A Demon in Ponyville
by Terciel1249
Summary: Mathew was a normal child when the end of the world happened. Darkness erupted from the Earth, casting demons onto the people of Earth. Mathew should have died when the demons poisoned his soul with darkness, but he survived. He fought for humanity for years alongside others of his kind. Humanity in return, caste him out and into the void with no hope of returning home.
1. Chapter 1

A Demon in Ponyville

Chapter 1: Not of this world

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony or its characters. All other characters are my own creation.

**I remember how I died.**

**From the start of this war to my death, I remember all that happened to me and my son.**

**I remember the day humanity faced its greatest threat.**

**For over ten years we fought, but our victory was hallowed costing us greatly.**

**The fall of man was not by fire, disease, or war.**

**It did not arrive with a shout, but a whisper on the wind.**

**This darkness festered from the Earth, spilling over the land in silence.**

**From this darkness, demons attacked humanity with a ferocity never seen before.**

**But it was the children who suffered the most.**

**These demons poisoned their pure souls with darkness, bringing them pain and suffering.**

**This darkness grew from the light of their souls, turning them dark from the inside.**

**Some died within hours of exposure. Other turned into something else, horrible abominations.**

**But few were able to survive, their light able to become one with the darkness.**

**These few were cursed with the powers of darkness, but still embraced the light.**

**My son was one of them, he was only ten.**

**He suffered for three days before the sickness faded.**

**When he awoke, he was different, capable of incredible things.**

**He looked for light and love in others, but the world was not that kind.**

**Humanity made him into a weapon and I was powerless to stop them.**

**When he was old enough, he fought for them alongside the others.**

**They faced the evil and darkness, alone for our sake.**

**They fought for us, and asked for so little.**

**They begged for love and companionship, but humanity had none to borrow.**

**Even then, they chose to love us.**

**Why did they love us?**

**My son asked me for a father, for a friend. But I couldn't deliver.**

**He asked for sympathy. I gave him sorrow.**

**He asked for my love, a child to father. He begged it of me.**

**I gave him ugliness.**

**He chose to love me.**

**He wants the man I was, his father.**

**He needn't bother.**

**He sacrificed his flesh and bone, to give us another day.**

**Some looked towards him and his companions with respect.**

**All I saw was a monster, no matter how much he did for us.**

**And even when he soared above me, raising all out of the darkness of despair,**

**I tried to clip his wings and drag him through the mud.**

**Yet he still loved me.**

**Even when I fell ill, showing no signs of wanting anything to do with him,**

**Chasing him off, cursing at him, and hitting him with all of my might.**

**Yet he chose to stay by me.**

**Why does he love me?**

**After he buried me, he continued to fight for us with all of his might.**

**Even after I passed, I looked down on him.**

**Humanity and our children pushed the darkness to the gates of Hell themselves.**

**Many of our children died to ensure those gates were closed forever.**

**My son stood in front of humanity, beaten and weakened, but victorious alongside his remaining companions.**

**Light had returned to the Earth, and do you know how humanity repaid them for their kindness?**

**With fear and hatred, for they were the byproducts of the darkness that tried to consume us.**

**Many resisted humanities' attempt to bind them, they were killed as traitors.**

**Others chose to take their own lives, finding comfort in taking fate into their own hands.**

**And what did you do?**

**You chose to surrender to humanity.**

**You saw their suffering and did not have the heart to cause more.**

**Humanity banished you from this realm.**

**With knowledge taken from the demons and the darkness, humanity threw you into the void between realms with no hope of returning home.**

**I cannot see you beyond the void. But my son, you have my love. I am sorry I could not be there for you. I wish I could change the past, to make you proud of me. I wish I could embrace you in my arms. I wish I could have given you all that you needed. But I am not that strong. You will never hear this, but it needs to be said. I need to say aloud how much I was wrong and how much I love you, your mother and your sisters before I can go to a peaceful rest. Now you fall further away from me and I cannot give you anything of value for you on your journey.**

**All I can give you is my blessing as you sail through the void.**

**No matter how far you will travel, we will never leave you. The richness of your families' love shall remain with you all the days of your life, comforting you in your darkest hours. I could not be more proud of you son. You grew from a boy to become a better man than I could ever be . . . a man who follows the light of his heart, giving selflessly to others and never asking for anything in return. Never forget this son, for it is your greatest strength. You will face many obstacles in this new world, but one day you will call it home. Because I know you and I know that you will share with its people the light of your heart. It is this reason above all else, I am happy to share with them the greatest joy in my life.**

**I give them you, my only son.**

**Farewell, Mathew**

0 0 0

The void was emptiness. No light or sound penetrated this boundary between the dimensions. This absolute silence was defining to the single spirit passing through it. Nothingness surrounded him, filling him with ice.

Mathew screamed in agony, his voice not heard by his own ears. His soul burned as it passed through the void as it distorted and destroyed his physical body. Yet he could not see anything, not even his hands in front of his face. Mathew was the first human hybrid to pass through this space.

Any normal human would have died, but Mathew's demonic energy kept his soul intact as the void's energy continued to tear him apart.

_How long have I been here?_

Time could not be told here. There was only darkness. Mathew cried out for release from this pain, his voice nonexistent here.

A tiny dot of light broke the eternal blackness. Mathew looked towards it with hope. The light grew slowly bigger as Mathew approached it, filling him with hope. _Where would the light take me? What's on the other side? Is that heaven?_ Mathew didn't address any of these questions, only grateful to be leaving this void.

As he got closer to the light, weariness crept into his bones as the battles and banishment finally caught up to him. The light blurring around the edges as Mathew's eyes drooped lower. His mind became numb to the pain of his spiritual body, drifting further into unconsciousness. Mathew's transparent lips lifted slightly as warmth began to return to his being. It felt nice and soft; bringing him closer to the sleep that evaded him for the past two nights.

Mathew couldn't stop himself from closing his eyes as the light filled his vision, covering him completely as he left the void.

**BANG!**

Mathew groaned as he crashed onto some very hard dirt. Sunlight shot through his eyelids, doing everything in its power to wake him up. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, Mathew took stock of his situation as his head throbbed in pain in unison with every muscle in his body. _Let's see, I feel a lot of pain. So yep, I'm still alive._Sherlock Holmes would be impressed by his deductive reasoning.

Sound soon came to him. Mathew heard the swaying of leaves being tossed in the light breeze and the babble of a river flowing to his left. Mathew breathed deeply, the smell of pollen, damp moss and grass filling his nostrils. As the pain in his back began to numb, Mathew noticed his body felt weird.

It felt like being lopsided, as if his limbs were put on backwards. Ignoring the feeling, Mathew finally opened his eyes to find an open blue sky shining down. "Meh!" groaned Mathew in a gruff low voice. _Did my voice drop an octave while I was in the void? Guess my voice was a little hoarse today._

Mathew rolled onto his side, become introduced face first into the green grass. Taking a deep breath, Mathew stood at his full height and-

"Oof!"

Mathew fell right on his rump. _Boy, I'm kind of a klutz today._ Attempting to get back up, Mathew planted his hand on the ground to steady himself.

It wasn't a hand that pushed against the ground. Correction, it was a hoof attached to a short leg, like a goat's leg, only the coat being a shimmering gold.

Moving the hoof up to eye level, his heart beginning to pick up pace, bashing against his rib-cage. Mathew experimented with it moving the appendage back and forth, left and right. When Mathew moved his hand left, it went left. When he went right, it went right. _Yep, that's definitely my hoof_ came the surprisingly calm though in Mathew's head. After that revelation, Mathew's brain seemed to be stuck in-between gears, a metal grinding reverberating in his head.

"Huh."

Looking down, Mathew was greeted by a second hoof with a second pair raring to go behind him. Mathew strained his neck to look over this alien body seeing the equine features. His whole body was covered in a layer of golden fur with a pair of matching wings along with a long crimson tail. What surprised him most was that he had retained the marks from his previous body. Along his left arm two long lines of black in ran from his hoof to a diamond shaped symbol of his shoulder. Inside the symbol sat a circle and pentagram, a small symbol graphed inside each of the star's points. Between the two lines of ink a flowing script flowed from shoulder to hoof. Along his rib cage, flowing black ink of tribal print outlined his ribs and flowing up the side to the back of his spiked red mane. Mathew's chest retained a black skull on the left pectoral with five sharp teeth pointing down his chest. Mathew retained the physique of his previous body, broad shoulders and slightly bulky as his muscles were lightly outlined by his fur.

Mathew also retained his injuries, leaving light red marks in contrast to his coat. Four long scratches ran across Mathews chest, a deep slice taken from his right side just under the ribcage, and a long scratch ran down his left hind leg over a tattoo of a white horse head wearing a black crown of thorns with its neck bent in penance.

_When did I get a tattoo?_ Mathew wondered as he turned his attention to the crimson tail sticking out his rear.

Mathew gave the tail and experimental tug, _That's definitely real._

Looking around, Mathew took in the surroundings. Mathew sat next between a small river and a tree line of dark foreboding trees. Deciding to get a better look at himself, Mathew shakily got to his feet… err, hooves and slowly moved over to the moving water.

Tripping a couple of times, Mathew was finally able to see his reflection in the clear blue water. Now life had prepared him for many things, ranging from flying demons of hell to soul sucking succubus. This was not one of them. Staring at him was a pony with wide eyes the color of blood, tall spiky red hair, a square muzzle. Along the left side of this stallions face symbols moved from the top of his forehead along the muzzle and down the neck to stop just above the shoulder. What was more shocking was the horn poking out of the center of his head.

Mathew's mind was already fried from the last three revelations, at this point it was like pouring gasoline on a computer and lighting it on fire while being struck by lightning while being ran over by an eighteen-wheeler.

"So now I'm some sort of love child of a Pegasus and unicorn?" Mathew asked incredulously.

Upon uttering these words, Mathew instantly regretted it. _Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Damnit! I'll never get that image out of my head now!_

Shaking his head to try to clear it, Mathew did the only logical thing that could come to mind and rationalized the situation. "OK… Let's not panic," Mathew took a deep breath. "Since I can feel pain and the ground under me, I can assume that this is either a manipulation of my senses by some powerful being or this is actually happening." Closing his eyes, Mathew quested out with his other senses feeling all of the life energy around him confirming his fears.

"Alright, I can feel the individual energies of multiple beings which throws out my first theory. If this is reality, then I must have exited the void in a different world. My body must have been transformed into the image of its natural inhabitants," Mathew continued to ramble. "Or I'm dead and this is punishment for my sins." Mathew took a steadying breath, "I'm not sure which answer I prefer."

Mathew chose to sit next to the stream and close his eyes, breathing deeply to calm his racing mind and heart. When he calmed down enough, Mathew decided to try one more test. Focusing on his right foreleg, Mathew allowed his power to flow through the leg. Opening his eyes, Mathew was not surprised as black energy outlined in a deep red flowed around the hoof and leg like fire.

_I still have my power._ Mathew thought without much care as he ceased the flow of energy.

Mathew decided the best policy was not to lounge about. Getting to his hooves, Mathew noticed his muscles and joints protested against him. Not wanting to perform any physical activities. Mathew moved north following the river, towards a large cluster of varying amounts of energy levels. Hoping that it was some kind of civilized settlement, Mathew slowly made his way north stumbling occasionally on a loose pebble or his own hooves.

"How do horses walk with these things?!"


	2. Chapter 2

A Demon in Ponyville

Chapter 2: Welcome to Ponyville Mr. Demon

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. All other characters are mine.

A shadow rippled across the lands of Equestria, moving into the cursed forest known as the Everfree Forest. The shadow held within its mind a sinister purpose, to rain destruction upon all. Deep into the forest it traveled winding between the thick vines and trunks until it reached its destination. A dark swamp full of bubbling water of swirling browns and blacks.

The shadow's iridescent green eyes found their target. Sleeping under the surface of the swamp, a four headed hydra laid curled in a restful sleep. The shadow's eyes filled with joy as it looked upon sleeping beast. Without any hesitation the shadow rushed to the sleeping beast, sinking within its left head. The hydra squirmed as the dark consciousness flooded its mind and dreams.

The hydra open all eight of its eyes, revealing them not to be their natural blue color but a glowing green. The water and ground of the swamp shook has the hydra raised itself above the murky water, its four scaly heads questing the surrounding valley until it found its destination. Ponyville.

0 0 0

Matthew continued along the riverbank, following its flowing water to what he hoped was civilization. As his limbs and muscles started to develop a deeper tension, Matthew decided to take a small respite at the edge of the dark forest. The stallion decided to take a drink before lying down. As he lifted his muzzle from the ice cold water, once again catching a glimpse of his new face Matthew thought to himself _It's going to take some time you get used to this image_. Sitting on the bank, the stallion look further north noticing for the first time what appeared to be rooftops shimmering under the bright noonday's sun.

Matthew sighed with relief at the chance to find civilization, earning a smile across his muzzle. Groaning, Matthew got to his hooves and continued his walk. The only sounds that accompany Matthew were the sound of the wind and the dull clopping of his own hooves against the hard earth.

_I wonder if this species are pony?_ Matthew guessed, going by his own appearance. _It'd be pretty weird if a Pegasus/unicorn crossbreed suddenly walked in the middle of the town full of humans. That'd be an awkward conversation!_

Matthew chuckled at this, questioning his own sanity as the distance continued to disappear. As the stallion got closer more details were revealed. The town was medium-size, full of houses of varying colors, ranging from blues to pinks to oranges to a gingerbread house which raised more questions.

Matthew stopped in his tracks finding himself unable to travel further into the town. _Oh my God! I am in hell! It finally happened!_ Sprawled out in front of him was the most colorful town he had ever seen, a town full of nothing but ponies. The town sprawled in front of him looked like something out of a cartoon show for children with bright colors, clear crisp lines, a bright blue sky and many smiling faces.

Regular ponies traveled across the road with this assortment of colors for their coats and manes. What surprised him the most were the unicorns and pegasus dispersed throughout the population, blending into the population almost perfectly except for the horn sticking out of their heads or the wings coming out of some of their backs. Pegasus of all colors flew through the air or stood atop white fluffy clouds.

The former human was stunned as the seemingly simple ponies continued about the day's work; whether it is running a shop, buying goods or exchanging pleasantries. This population of ponies created a society and built a town. _With only hooves?_ Mathew decided not to ask how they did that.

Matthew steeled himself up, preparing to move through this crowd. Inside he was nervous, meeting a new civilization was probably not as easy as the movies made it out to be, but he could walk among them without raising suspicions.

As Mathew entered the town, he stomach developed a knot. A feeling he trusted during the war, the famous _gut feeling_ his unit learned to dread with a passion. Mathew moved through the crowd, weaving between the various ponies as he quested out with his limited senses, feeling the energy of everyone within ten feet.

Limited as he was, Mathew could not feel any malicious energy close by.

The energy he sensed was the basic image of a soul. Each one had a distinct feel to it, no matter what it was. Plants were light, sluggish as they produced energy to grow and survive. Animals had contained more energy, but they were simplistic, working only towards their own survival. With a more complex being, the variety of personality had completely different imprints and colors. Good attributes such as love, kindness and such would lead to a bright soul. While the negative attributes lead to a darkening of the soul, until the light was blocked out by darkness. Leaving black energy that flowed outward with negativity. With these ponies, they all felt "good." Some malicious imprints were there; the compulsion to lie, to cheat or the beginnings of greed. But these were outweighed by their light.

_Jesus! Heaven's got some competition here._ Mathew though in awe as he studied these ponies, marveling at the shear scope of good inside of them. Realization hit Mathew as he noticed a strange trend between the ponies.

Most ponies were shorter, more curved with long flowing manes and tales. _Why's that?_ Mathew questioned as these shorter ponies moved more fluidly with longer eyelashes, then it dawned on him. _Man! Guys are outnumbered five to one here. Even I could get a date here_, Mathew commented as cold shiver rand down his spine unnoticed by the crowd surrounding him.

Mathew began to notice his presence was drawing unwanted attention. Several mares' eyes were drawn to him with surprise and what could only be described as attraction as they looked dreamily towards him. It couldn't have been that Mathew was a male, because some of the stallions turned to him with surprise before they turned to the pony beside them to whisper. _Getting worried now_, Mathew thought as he moved a little faster against his protesting limbs, but not above a fast walk. Mathew's face turned red as he heard a whistle and catcall, "Looking good there, handsome!"

While passing a large group of giggling ponies, Mathew noticed a gingerbread house approaching on his left with the sign reading 'Sugarcube Corner.'

Mathew had to take a closer inspection. The building was revealed to be made out of wood and plaster and not food. _Why am I disappointed for some reason?_ The sweet smell of baked goods wafted from the open door, tempting Mathew to enter the busy business.

Mathew remained vigilant, remembering that he had no money and should not waste his time looking at delicious creations just to make him hungrier.

A growl from his stomach argued its point. _Hey! Business first, food second._ Firm in his position, Mathew moved away from the building.

As he moved away he heard a very sad, "Awwwww," float over the murmur of the crowd in Sugarcube Corner. Choosing to ignore it, Mathew continued further into this strange colorful town thinking deeply about where to ask for information.

_Now let's think. . . A bar?_

_Do ponies even drink? Probably not._

_A passerby? Maybe, but then I would draw attention to the fact that I'm have no idea where I am and no self respecting man would ever do that._

_A library?_

Mathew hummed to himself; _A library would have a map and there are multiple excuses to look at a map._With a plan in mind, Mathew moved deeper into the town.

0 0 0

Pinkie Pie woke up today with a smile on her face, but today wasn't just any day. Today her Pinkie Sense was telling her a new pony was going to arrive in Ponyville and that something big was going to happen. Big with all CAPS!

The day went by normal. Pinkie helped the Cakes around the bakery and with the twins while offering all the ponies who entered the door a friendly greeting and smile before taking their orders. All of her best friends, which literally included every pony she had ever met, were having a great time and then he showed up.

Wondering up to the door, Pinkie saw the new pony. His gold coat shone in the bright sunlight, his spiky mane making him look like a porcupine with those red irises looking at the baker with an interested eye. From behind the counter Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked inquisitively at Pinkie as she jumped up and down muttering, "He's here! He's here! He's here!"

Before they could ask who, Pinkie pointed towards the stallion and their jaws dropped. Standing in front of the door inspecting the outside wall was a male alicorn, his wings and horn gold like his fur.

Mr. Cake asked Pinkie, "Do you know that pony, Pinkie Pie?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, "He's my bestest friend!"

Mr. and Mrs. Cake chuckled, "Pinkie Pie, everpony's your bestest friend."

"I know! Isn't it great!" Pinkie bounced, until she looked closer at his face noticing the dark bags under his eyes and the frown on his muzzle. "But he looks sad," Pinkie said as she stopped her bouncing.

"Who do you think he is?" asked Mrs. Cakes, looking over the markings over his muzzle and barrel, not knowing what to make of them.

"I don't know, shugarplum," commented Mr. Cake.

Before they could continue, the stallion turned and walked away from the bakery to disappear in the crowd, causing Pinkie Pie to sadly called, "Awwwwwwww," wanting nothing more than to meet this stranger. Pinkie Pie burst from the bakery, shocking anypony passing in front of the door.

_There he is! _Pinkie Pie's voice vibrated in her head as she began to formulate a plan to get that stallion to smile._OK! First, I'll give him a surprise hug! Then, a cupcake! I wonder what kind of cupcake he likes? Oooh! My voice sounds funny in here! Hello. Hello. Hello Hello._

Pinkie Pie snaked her way through the crowd, taking cover behind any object as she stocked her prey. She soundlessly moved from a stand selling lettuce, to under a wagon, to behind a small filly until she jumped into a large pitcher for sale. Surprising the pony behind the stand, but Pinkie always kept her eyes on the alicorn. As the stallion made his way into the town square, he stopped to take in his surroundings. His head quested from left to right as his ears flicked back and forth taking in the sounds.

_Now's my chance! _Pinkie Pie jumped from inside the pitcher into the air. Pinkie flew towards the stallion in a wide arch, with her forelegs held wide open. Time slowed for the party pony, as she got closer and closer to this new friend. Her legs were almost around his neck, ready to give him the biggest hug Pinkie Pie could muster.

And then…

There was nothing. In less than a second, the stallion simply vanished into thin air causing the party pony to crash into the dirty. Pinkie's head spun around in all directions, not knowing what happened. "Where'd he go? Did he disappear? Or was he never there to begin with?!" Pinkie asked, her eyes bulging in her head scaring all of the ponies near her.

"Oh wait! There he is!" Pinkie called spinning around to look at the building that was at her back, startling Mathew as he looked down from the top of the thatched rooftop of a light tan house.

"Eep!" Mathew squeaked in a very unmanly way as the pink pony that had just tried to tackle him moments ago disappeared in a cloud of upturned dirt. _Jesus she's fast!_ Mathew felt her moving around the building to get to him, all the while wearing a wide smile showing all of her shining white teeth with her blue eyes bulging out of her head. It was the kind of smile that a psychopath would use while asking if they could _touch your skin_.

With a push of energy Mathew flew over the heads of the ponies to the roof adjacent to him. To anyone looking, it appeared as if he had vanished into thin air. In reality, Mathew had simply used his energy to push himself a short distance at high speeds.

Whipping his head around, Mathew caught sight of the pink pony standing where he was a moment ago. She looked angry now, determined to catch him. To Mathew's growing surprise, this pony pulled out a small pink canon from her mane and placed it on the roof. _How did she fit that in her hair?_ Dumbfounded, Mathew continued to blankly stare at Pinkie as she jumped into the canon._What is she doing? Is she crazy! And . . ._Mathew's pupils contracted as his ears flattened against his head as he just realized where she was aiming.

With a loud bang Pinkie Pie flew straight at stallion at top speed. Confused and worried about her safety, Mathew stood there like an idiot as she slammed into him. The pair flew off the roof and into the open air as every eye followed their flight trajectory.

Pinkie and Mathew tumbled through the air, sailing towards a large oak tree.

0 0 0

Lying next to a tall stack of leather bound books, a purple alicorn enjoyed rifling through the pages of a particularly large green book. Her mane flowed to the floor, a darker purple than her fur with a pink highlight to accent it. Princess Twilight Sparkle was enjoying the peace of a day off, taking time to enjoy some of the new books she added to her collection. She hummed to herself, as a small purple reptile with green underbelly made his way down the worn wooden stairs, calling "How's it going Twilight?"

Twilight looked up from the pages, smiling at Spike, "Pretty good Spike. How about you?"

Spike shrugged, "Kinda bored, wanna do something later today?"

Twilight chuckled, standing up to stretch her limbs "Sure thing, Spike. What would you like to do?"

Spike scratched his chin, thinking deeply, "How about we check out that new movie? What was it called? Slender-something?"

Twilight raised a amused eyebrow, "Isn't that a little adult for you? I don't want you crawling into my bed because of some nightmare?"

Spike dropped to his knees, pleading, "Aw! Come on Twilight! I promise I won't get scared! Please! Please! Please!"

Twilight tried to turn away, but Spike was giving her the puppy eyes. Nopony could resist the puppy eyes. Twilight sighed, "OK, Spike. Let's head out and grab some tickets for a later show."

"Yes!" cheered the little dragon, fist pumping the air.

"But," Twilight added, "You can't get a large popcorn."

"Oh come on!"

Twilight continued, "I don't want you getting a stomach ache like the last time I allowed you to get that much popcorn."

"Ok," Spike said, slightly defeated but still very happy to be going anyway.

Twilight's horn ignited with purple energy, all of the books next to her flew into the air before returning them to their correct locations on the shelves. Twilight announced, "There! All nice and cleaned, let's go Spike!"

Spike was about to jump onto Twilight's back, but a blur of pink and gold burst through the roof into the bookshelf behind him causing the reptile to run behind her in fright.

Books rained down on the intruders as Twilight cried, "My books!"

Twilight and Spike slowly approached the pile of books with apprehension, making sure to stay a safe distance. The pile shifted slightly, causing them to freeze. Their muscle ready to bolt out of the library if need be.

A pink head and cotton candy mane popped out of the pile of books, giggling, "That was fun! Let's do it again!"

Twilight gasped, not sure what to make of Pinkie Pie at this very moment. "Pinkie Pie are you alright?"

Pinkie turned to Twilight, "I'm fine! I landed on something soft." Taking a hoof, Pinkie rummaged through the books until she found what she was looking for. With a quick pull, Pinkie pulled out Mathew's head.

Twilight looked at Mathew's swirling eyes and gaping mouth. Twilight asked him, "Are you alright?"

"Here kitty! Kitty! Kitty!" Mathew slurred as the world spun around him before collapsing in the pile of books. Either he suffered from brain damage from his head being used as a battering ram or was still calibrating from the fact that he had just been shot at with a pink pony. Thankfully, black nothingness welcomed him to sleep.

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, "Pinkie, what did you do?"

Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, "Well-I-was-following-this-pony-to-give-him-a-surprise-hug-and-to-be-best-friends-but-he-kept-disappearing-so-I-shot-myself-out-of-the-party-cannon-and-we-flew-through-the-air-until-we-crashed-into-your-library! Sorry Twilight!" It was surprising she was able to say that all in one breathe.

Twilight shook her head, tension building up between her eyes, "So let me get this straight." Twilight ironed out the detail, "A new pony arrived in Ponyville?"

"Yep!"

"You wanted to be friends with him, right?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"So you chased him around Ponyville and he kept disappearing on you?"

"Yes sir!"

"When you couldn't grab him, you shot at him with you cannon and came crashing through my library wall?"

Pinkie jumped out of the pile of books to stand triumphantly on them, the shift in weight causing the air to wheeze out of Mathew's lungs. "And we had the bestest time!"

Twilight calmed her nerves, "Pinkie, did you ever consider just talking to the guy?"

Pinkie's ears dropped slightly, "Where'd the fun in that be?"

Twilight decided on a different tactic, her purple magic covering Mathew's body as she lifted him from the pile of books and placing him on a cushion. Twilight noticed the markings all over his body, causing her to take a closer look at some of the symbols on his muzzle. Pinkie Pie appeared next to Twilight, asking, "Whatcha looking at?"

Twilight's brow furrowed, "These symbols, I've never seen them before."

Pinkie Pie commented, "Maybe he's a foreigner, or a space alien from the planet Mongo, or a traveler from another dimension!"

Twilight chuckled slightly, "Pinkie, I don't think he's any of those. He looks like a pony to me. These strange markings don't make him an alien."

Pinkie pointed out, "But have you ever seen a male alicorn before?"

"Wait, what?" asked Twilight, turning to see the wings attached to his back. _How'd I miss those?_ Twilight thought.

Spike chimed in, "She has a point Twilight, has there ever been a male alicorn before?" Twilight shook her head as Spike jumped on the stranger's back, looking closely at the swirling design, "These are some cool tattoos. I wonder how he got them."

Twilight lifted Spike off Mathew's back, "Spike don't jump on anypony's back, that's rude."

Spike comment, "It's alright Twilight. He's out like a light. Here watch!" as he demonstrated by poking Mathew several times in the gut.

Mathew muttered, "But captain, I don't wanna do kitchen duty. The cockroaches are going to try and eat me again!"

Twilight scratched her head, "What do you think we should do? We can't just leave him here?"

Spike answered, "We can't just throw him outside. He probably has no place to go."

Pinkie jumped up and down excitedly, "How about we just wait for him to wake up? We can ask him all the questions we want. AND I still don't know his name yet!" Pinkie shouted this last section, as if it was a personal insult to her.

Twilight sighed, "Sorry Spike, it looks like we'll have to cancel the movie tonight."

Spike sighed, "It's cool. We can hang out here."

An idea popped into Twilight's head, "Hey Spike, how about you pull out one of your favorite games? We can play while we wait for this pony to wake up."

Spike grinned sheepishly as he ran down to the basement to grab the chess board. Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie as she continued to bounce up and down, "Um, Pinkie?"

"Yes?" she sang.

"What are your plans today?"

Pinkie suddenly jumped higher than before with a sudden scream, hitting her head on the roof in the process. "Oh my gosh, I forgot I was suppose to meet Applejack at the market! Gotta go! Bye!" In lightning speed, Pinkie Pie flew through the hole in the wall leaving a bemused Twilight shaking her head.

Spike returned a moment later carrying the black and white board over his head as Twilight was finishing fixing her wall.

0 0 0

Standing among a myriad of other stands was a worn down wooden wagon filled to bursting with the biggest red apples one could image. Standing next to it was an orange mare with a mark of three apples wearing a cowboy hat over her long blond braided mane and tail. A southern accent called, "Apples! Come and git yur fresh apples!"

Applejack jumped as a pink blur suddenly appeared in front of her, scaring her half to death, "Geez Pinkie! Can ya at least give me a little warning when ya do that?"

"Sorry," Pinkie apologized sheepishly, smiling the entire time.

Applejack asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yeppery!" Pinkie said, "The Cakes wanted me to get five dozen apples, their working on a new kind of cake!" Pinkie's mane quivered as she could barely control her excitement.

"Sure thing, Sugarcube!" Applejack smiled, "I'll bring them over when I'm over when I'm finished with selling today."

Pinkie cheered excitedly as three fillies made their way to Applejack. One was a yellow Earth pony with a large pink bow, the second a white unicorn with a curling purple mane, the last was an orange Pegasus with a rough purple mane. Applejack greeted, "Howdy Applebloom! Is school out already?"

"Sure is Applejack," Applebloom jumped up excitedly before asking, "Can I go crusading with Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo? Please?"

Applejack smiled, trying to resist those big puppy eyes the girls were giving her. "As long as you can promise you ya'll won't do anything dangerous, then you can go play wit yur friends."

"Oh come on!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "When have we done anything dangerous?"

Applejack answered in a deadpanned expression, "Need I remind you about the time you three thought it would be fun to get your cutie marks in fire rescue."

The three girls blushed at the memory of burning down the barn. Sweetie Bell tried to remedy the situation, "At least we didn't burn down the entire barn."

Applejack shook her head before giving the three a stern gaze, "Just don't get into any trouble. Got it!"

"We won't!" cried the Cutie Mark Crusaders before tearing down the street.

Applejack turned back to Pinkie Pie, but before they could continue the ground shook ever so slightly. Applejack raised an eyebrow, "Pinkie, did ya'll feel that?"

"I'm not sure," Pinkie Pie answered as another tremor shook the ground.

boom.

This time, both Applejack and Pinkie looked around, both having felt the shock-wave. Applejack moved away from her stand, her eyes moving through the crowd of ponies. None of them had felt it yet. Applejack called to Pinkie, "Pinkie can ya help me grab those three before they wonder off too far?"

Boom.

Now, other ponies were starting to look around as well. The shake had knocking several items of the produce off the shelves and several item of merchandise from inside several ponies' homes drawing the attention of their residences to look outside, particularly one white unicorn with a long curling mane working diligently on her newest dress.

Rarity cursed as the fabric skewed off the sewing machine, "What in blazes is going on out there?"

Twilight turned from the chess board in front of her as several books fell off of their shelves. Twilight and Rarity exited their houses, with Spike following behind Twilight.

Everypony gasped in horror as a large reptilian figure made its way towards Ponyville, sending more powerful vibrations into the earth. The hydra's four heads opened wide before releasing an ear splitting roar, causing everypony to cover their ears in pain.

Twilight yelled to Spike, "Stay here! I'll see what I can about that hydra!" Without waiting for an answer, Twilight vanished in a flash of purple light.

Spike yelled after her, "Be careful!" A sudden breeze caught Spike by surprise, almost toppling him over on his face. As the dragon turned around, Spike saw the stallion that was unconscious moments ago now gone. Grumbling Spike closed the door before racing up to the balcony, trying to get a view of the situation.

Rarity rushed towards the marketplace, worried about the lives that were in danger, as many ponies were running in the opposite direction.

Applejack sighed as Twilight appeared, the hydra beginning its rampage on the town by stomping on all of the homes closest to it. "What do we do?" Applejack yelled, Pinkie Pie next to her.

An yellow earth pony with a poofy orange mane screamed as the hydra's foot came down on her. Instead of death meeting her, she found herself two streets away from the rampaging monster. Having no idea who saved her, Carrot Top ran for safety.

Twilight thought for a moment, "We need to distract it. Pinkie use your party canon to draw its attention! And Applejack, you go for its legs! I'll hit it with a spell when it's stopped!"

Pinkie gave a salute before dashing towards the hydra. Applejack prepared a lasso and Twilight built up a spell in her horn, causing purple light to encase it. The hydra ripped the top of a home, before tossing it at the crowd of retreating ponies.

The roof tumbled through the air, straight at a pair of ponies running for their lives trying to outrun the deadly debris. As it was about to crush them, a blue blur ripped them off their hooves before placing them on the side of the street. The cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane yelled to them, "Get to safety! I'll deal with this!"

As the roof rolled through the street, a tall blue earth pony was in danger of being crushed. The stallion started to move, but the speed of the roof was too fast for him to escape. Until, the stallion suddenly found himself on the other side of the street, the roof crashing into a wall and breaking apart.

Rainbow Dash flew straight at the left most hydra head, bashing it with her hooves. Pinkie on the opposite side, blasted the things eyes with her canon effectively blinding it with colorful confetti. Applejack ran around the varmint's front legs, a thick rope following her path. After the fourth pass, the hydra was halted by the thick rope, Applejack called to Twilight, the rope still in her mouth, "Go Twi!"

Twilight unleashed the power of her horn onto the beast. To her and every other pony's horror, the strong magic was diffused by a thick dark barrier that appeared over the hydra's scales. "But that was my strongest spell," gasped Twilight.

The hydra pushed against the ropes that bound it, snapping them and sending a shocked Applejack through a nearby wall. The hydra swatted at a charging Rainbow Dash with one of its heads, sending her flying back several hundred feet. As Rainbow Dash was about to crash into the ground, a purple aura halted her fall. "I've got you Dashie!" Rarity cried with joy, before gently placing the dazed Pegasus on the ground.

Twilight tried to think of something. The hydra turned its attention to the pink pony on its right, one of its heads diving down to devour it._ It's got a dark energy protecting it! How do I get past that! How!_ Twilight racked her brain as Pinkie Pie jumped at the last second, landing on top of the hydra's head.

The hydra thrashed about, throwing its head back and forth to dislodge its passenger. It's feet stomping up and down, trying to add more force to shake her. Any pony close to the stampeding monster, suddenly found themselves either farther down the street or on the other side of the building away from the hydra.

Pinkie Pie closed her eyes screaming for dear life as she wrapped her legs around one of the hydra's spikes. Pinkie stopped screaming as she suddenly felt warm dirt under her hooves. Opening her eyes, she found herself on staring at a tan home, the hydra's heads rising above the roof.

Rainbow Dash shook the dizziness from her eyes as she jumped back into the air, turning to face the reptile.

Everypony's hearts sank as they heard the unmistakable cry of three fillies. Twilight's eyes went wide as she saw the CMC huddled together, cowering in fear as the hydra's foot came down. Twilight vanished in a second, placing herself between the hydra's foot and the fillies before erecting a powerful barrier. The alicorn gritted her teeth as the hydra brought its foot down, far stronger than her barrier. Causing it to shatter and Twilight forced into the dirt.

Rainbow Dash flew at the hydra, head butting one of the heads that tried to strike at her. Unfortunately, Rainbow ricocheted off the beast's head and into a nearby building casting wood and dust into the room.

Applejack pealed herself from a pile of ruble to see her sister about to be crushed by the hydra, "NO!" Applejack cried rushing towards her sister, tears streaming across her cheeks.

Pinkie Pie zoomed around the corner of the street, heart racing. As she rounds around the corner, Pinkie gasps in horror as Twilight and the CMC were still in the line of danger.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her head, feeling wetness on her hoof. But that didn't matter as the three fillies cried holding each other as Twilight's horn flickered weakly in an attempt to create another barrier. The cyan Pegasus burst from the home at top speed, but she wouldn't make it.

Rarity rushed headlong down the street, her breath ragged. Rarity was determined to find her sister and make whoever made her scream suffer. The white unicorn's sight fell on her sister, friends and Twilight. "Sweetie Bell!" Rarity cried pushing her legs to go faster, horn glowing as she tried to stop the hydra's foot.

The hydra's foot was almost upon Twilight and the CMC as Rainbow pushed her wings to the limits. The four ponies closed their eyes, waiting for their demise to occur. All of the ponies screamed, tears streaming down all of the girls faces as they froze in their tracks. No pony was able to comprehend what had just happened. The hydra let loose a roar of victory, shaking the entire town. Other ponies started to cry alongside Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.

The hydra stopped roaring and looked down at its feet in confusion. To the shock and horror of everypony there, the hydra's foot started to rise up. The ground shook as the hydra applied all of its weight on the foot, but the force under it was stronger still. Everypony looked at its foot, trying to see if Twilight and the CMC were still alive.

Ponyville had seen many strange and confusing things over the years that would be remembered for a very long time. This was one of those times.

Twilight and the fillies slowly opened their eyes, met with an impossible sight. The gold alicorn Mathew was standing on his hind legs and lifting the hydra's foot with only his right hoof, said appendage's skin was covered in a swirling dark mass of fire. Mathew turned to the four ponies, offering them a comforting smile. Twilight was surprised by how deep the pony's voice was,

"It's all right. Your safe now."


	3. Chapter 3

A Demon in Ponyville

Ch. 3: Laying the Smack Down

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. All other characters are my own.

The ponies of Ponyville gazed at the scene in the center of town with fear and awe. None dared to get close, but the CMC cried with joy as Mathew turned its attention back to the hydra. The beast redoubled its efforts to crush him, causing Twilight and the CMC to gasps as the ground cracked under the pressure.

_This guys a stronger than I thought._

Mathew thought as beads of sweat developed on his brow. Even with his body shaking under the hydra's foot, Mathew had power to fortify his body and was more than match the hydra's strength.

"AH!" Twilight and the CMC yelped in surprise as Mathew bellowed loudly, sending a dark blast of energy from his right hoof. The CMC cried in amazement as the rest of the ponies cried in terror as the hydra flew through the air towards the Everfree Forest, landing a good hundred meters from the ponies.

Mathew watched the hydra sail through the air, before turning to the three fillies and Twilight. "Are all of you alright?"

Twilight nodded as the CMC suddenly jumped at Mathew, catching the stallion by surprise as they embraced him crying, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Mathew gently patted them on the back with his left hoof, comforting them, "It's alright. You're safe now."

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack approached the scene with apprehension, all of them staring at Mathew with wide open eyes. Applebloom turned away from the stallion, rushing to embrace Applejack with a cry of joy. The sisters embraced as Scootaloo rushed to Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle jumped to embrace Rarity.

Twilight shakily got to her hooves, her eyes on Mathew as she asked, "Who are you?"

"GGGRRRROOOAHHHH!"

Mathew opened his mouth to answer, but the earsplitting roar from the hydra interrupted by blasting through the air. Mathew turned towards the hydra, catching a glimpse of four beams of darkness firing from the hydra's mouths up into the sky cleaving the cloud formations in half, cutting into the land and mountain side.

_OK! I may have failed world religions, but when could a hydra do that?!_

Mathew rocketed towards the hydra, sending a shock-wave of air to blast the ponies standing around him as he vanished in front of them.

Applejack gaped, "Woah!" As Twilight gawked in the stallion's wake. _That wasn't magic!_ Twilight had an ability that all unicorn's could utilize, the ability to sense magic. Twilight felt no surge of magic in him, instead she felt something different. What she felt was a strange shifting energy, it felt smooth yet rough, cold yet hot, calm but vicious.

Twilight turned to face Rarity, the white unicorn's eyes as wide as her own. Both of these ponies felt the same thing. They may not know what it was, but it was powerful.

Mathew appeared at the feet of the hydra, all four of the beast's heads looking down towards the lone stallion. All eight of those green eyes were filled with all the hate they could muster focused on Mathew. Mathew stood his ground, stomping his right hoof into the ground and causing several cracks to form. "I'll tell you this once. Leave. You won't get another warning."

The four heads lunged towards Mathew. Mathew brought his hoof back and jumped at the snarling beast's heads. Mathew's hoof caught the hydra in an explosion of energy as it made contact with one of the scaled heads. The hydra's heads flew back, as Mathew went on the offensive. Diving hoof first into the creature's gut, the hydra doubled over from the impact as spittle flew into the air and onto the ground.

Mathew appeared to the hydra's left, rushing towards its side. The head closest turned to him and fired off a blast of darkness. Mathew jumped to the right to dodge the blast. The shockwave caught him off guard, sending him skidding farther then he wanted too as two of the heads fired energy at him. Mathew disappeared as the darkness exploded in front of the hydra, leaving a charred hole.

Mathew was under the far left head, jumping towards the creature's head to deliver a vicious uppercut. Blood and a large pointed tooth flew out of the creature's mouth. Mathew caught the second head as it came lunging from out of nowhere. Gruff words passed through Mathew's mind, his commander's famous words of wisdom_If ya can't fight hard, fight smart. If ya can't fight smart, fight hard. If ya can do both, then kick your enemy's ass before they know they've lost or else your enemy will become desperate. And a desperate enemy will do all it can to strike you down._

Mathew was caught off guard as the moth opened, revealing several large and quite dangerous looking teeth. A dark mass roared at Mathew, exploding in front of the hydra's head as it came into contact with the stallion. Mathew flew back through the air, pivoting his body to face the hydra. One head was covered by a cloud of smoke, but the three other heads were already firing upon him.

Crossing his arms, Mathew attempted to block the blast. One head wasn't that bad, but times it by three and you've got a powerful explosion.

The girls and CMC gasped as the three pillars of darkness connected with the stallion, resulting in an explosion that shook all of the houses to their foundations. Mathew flew down, leaving a trail of smoke to crash into the ground several feet in front from Twilight and her friends. Mathew burrowed several feet into the earth, leaving a small hole in the road.

The ponies rushed to the hole, circling around it and trying to see anything through the dark shadow. Applebloom called, "Are ya'll alright in there?"

Mathew groaned, noticing not only his burning muscles but the scorch marks on his sides and the surprisingly deep lacerating pain on the right side of his stomach. Mathew felt the side, feeling something wet and warm flowing over his fur. His previous wound allowing his blood to trickle out of his body. _Shit. That hurt._ Mathew called back to the surface, sarcasm filling his voice, "Yeah! I'm fantastic! Nothing but gumdrops and ice-cream down here!"

Pinkie Pie jumped up and down excitedly, "OOOOOH! Really? Can I come in too?"

Applejack swore she heard a hoof collide with Mathew's forehead. Mathew grumbling, "I'm surrounded by idiots."

"I thought you were surrounded by gumdrops and ice-cream?"

"AGH!" Mathew yelled in frustration. All of the ponies jumping back as Mathew burst from the hole, sending bits of rock and dirt in all directions. All of the ponies were surprised that he got up in the first place, the fur on both sides burned leaving blackened skin and blood dripping from his side. Mathew panted, his eyes filled with anger looking towards the hydra. "That's it! The gloves come off!"

"But you're not wearing gloves," Pinkie commented with a bright smile as every other pony groaned in exasperation.

All of the girls gasped as Mathew held out his left foreleg, power flowing into the appendage. Unlike the right side, a bright flowing energy poured from the limb covering it with a white light. As it covered the limb, the light solidified, forming a crystal flowing from hoof to shoulder. The transformation ended at the shoulder in a sharp point. Twilight could only associate this formation with a sleeve of armor, the smooth crystal flowing over the fetlock to the joint, leaving a small gap for the joint to move as a second piece of crystal formed an upper guard with a triangular point rising several inches above the shoulder to provide a small amount of cover to the neck and head.

Rarity gasped as the light reflected off the stallion's leg, sending multitude of colors in all directions.

Mathew rushed forward into battle, the hydra preparing a second barrage of dark energy. Mathew stopped just in front of the hydra as all four heads releasing its power onto him. Mathew crossed his arms in front of him, the white crystal contrasting against the swirling dark energy of his other arm. The four beams hit the stallion, the resulting mushroom cloud obliterating the homes closest to them.

The hydra chuckled in triumph, sounding like several stones being rubbed against each other. As the smoke dissipated, that chuckle caught in the hydra's throat. All eight eyes filled with surprise as the stallion still remained standing, a small smirk spreading across his muzzle.

The power of Mathew's left arm wasn't an offensive ability, but defensive. The crystallized structure was the pure energy solidified, making it stronger than diamond. If anything makes contact with the crystal, energy is released dispersing the force of any attack. This energy can soften any physical or energy attack as the crystal stops the attack completely, protecting the flesh underneath.

Mathew rushed forward, rapidly punching the hydra's gut with both hooves. While the left arm wasn't as powerful as the right, the crystal's hardness more than made up for it. The hydra's feet began to leave the ground as Mathew continued to devastate its abdomen, each punch feeling like a bomb. Large droplets of blood flew from the four heads, their insides being pulverized

When the hydra was fifty feet in the air, Mathew wrapped his forelegs around the one of the hydra's feet. With a titanic heave, Mathew flipped the hydra over his head and threw it into the ground. All of the ponies felt the ground shudder, causing all of the houses' windows to rattle in their sills.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight, the CMC and any pony looking towards the fight could not help it as their jaws crashed into the dirt. A pony had just thrown a hydra over his head and into the dirt.

The hydra was not beaten yet, pulling all of its energy, the four heads powered up their last attack at Mathew as he slowly dropped towards them. Mathew put both of his hooves together, light and darkness sparking as they made physical contact.

Darkness and light were never meant to be mixed. They were opposites, forever to live away of the other, only existing because the other does. If they touch, the reaction was chaotic and not fully able to control. Mathew was the only one able to force this connection. He may not be able to control the byproduct, but he could aim it in the right direction.

The four heads fired their energy at the descending Mathew, as the blue sparking energy built up between his hooves. Mathew threw his hooves forwards as the dark mass rapidly approached him.

The inhabitants of Ponyville cried out in shock as blue energy collided with the dark energy. Cutting through the hydra's attack, the blue energy exploded as it hit the hydra with full force. The resulting blast sent a shockwave of air through the town, every piece of glass shattering to rain down on the streets as ponies took shelter. Most weren't harmed because they were hiding when the hydra attacked, a few were cut but nothing deep.

The hydra lay in the dirt, breathing heavily as its body ached. ***Cough* *Cough*** Crimson blood flew from the four mouths as spasms wracked its body. The pain it felt was just too much. The hydra could hardly move, let alone attack.

The stallion appeared next to the left head, the green eyes staring daggers wanting nothing more than to destroy him. Mathew stood there defiantly, forcing his muscles to remain still as they burned under his skin. "It's over."

The hydra slowly closed its eyes, almost as if falling asleep. When they opened, Mathew was surprised as blue eyes focused on him. These blue eyes were filled with fear. _What just happened?_ The hydra whimpered as the pain of their fight was now just being recognized for the first time. The hydra moved away from Mathew as best it could, dragging itself across the dirt.

_That doesn't make sense! It was just trying to destroy me as second ago, and now it's not afraid of me. Was it being controlled._

Mathew sighed, taking note of the change of eye color as he said to the beast, "It's alright. I won't hurt you." The hydra didn't believe him, but as the beast slowly rolled onto its feet wincing as every part of its body throbbed with pain. Mathew just watched it leave. The hydra limped back to the Everfree Forest to rest its wounds, only taking a single moment to look back at the stallion watching it.

As the hydra returned to its home, Mathew rushed to where he had left those three fillies. As Mathew appeared in front of them, the group jumped a few feet in the air at his sudden appearance. Mathew had to catch himself by placing his front legs farther apart as his sight wavered, gasping for air._ Woah, got a little lightheaded there. I think I might have overdone it. I need a vacation. Seriously, why does this shit keep happening to me! I mean this is some seriously fu… Oh look ponies._ Mathew's internal ranting ended as the three little fillies slowly walked up to him, eyes full of wonder.

Mathew suddenly noticed the larger group standing behind them. Slowly the town's inhabitants had left their hiding places to join Twilight and her friends to see what had happened. Mathew ignored their gaping muzzles, as he turned his attention to the three standing in front of him. _Oh god what do I say! What do you say after something like that? How do you talk to children? Hello? How are you? Are you all right? Think man! Think of something comforting! Or cool! I would except something cool._ Mathew smiled, saying the only thing that came to mind, "Are you three alright?" _That wasn't cool. A nice thought, thou._

Mathew jumped a few feet as the CMC cried with joy, launching at him to give him the biggest hug their small limbs could provide.

"That was awesome!" Scootaloo yelled.

"You are so cool!" Sweetie Bell chimed in.

"You sure showed that hydra!" Applebloom admonished.

This seemed to break the tension with the crowd, Twilight and the rest of them having the courage to move closer to Mathew as the regular folks chose to stand a short distance behind their princess. Mathew's confused expression met the group, not sure how to react to this kind of situation. The awkwardness was really high for both sides. _What level is it? It's over 9000!_ Mathew thought as he cleared his voice, patting the fillies on their backs with his left arm, "You don't need to thank me. I'm glad to help." _Aw! That's sweet man._

Applejack noticed Mathew's awkwardness, but saw genuine gratitude for their safety as he looked down on the fillies. Everypony in front of Mathew noticed the growing tremors in his limbs, despite their owner's wishes. Applejack decided to lend the stallion a hoof, "Alright, ya little whippersnappers. Give the pony a break."

The CMC groaned as they released Mathew to return to the older ponies, Applejack looked into the stallion's eyes. There she saw the tiredness._Fighting a hydra really has to take it out of a fella._

Twilight noticed the light drip-drop of blood falling onto the dry dirt from the Mathew's side. Twilight asked, worried as Mathew's eyes drooped halfway, a wave of weariness taxing his mind, "Are you alright?"

Mathew had to act tough and brush it off as if it was nothing, "Yeah. It'd take more than a hydra to stop me. I can take whatever's thrown at me."

_Oh God! There go my organs!_

Everypony gasped as Mathew's eyes rolled into the back of his head before collapsing onto the dirt road. The crystal on his arm shattered, each individual shard crumpling into nothing. The darkness on his right arm dissipated on the breeze, leaving the faint smell of ozone before it too was swept away by the wind.

Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and the CMC rushed to him. Twilight scanned Mathew's body, noting the various burns, cuts and bruising. Rarity ripped a piece of curtain from a ruined window, offering it to Applejack as she began to press against the cut in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie held back the CMC, trying to not get in the way themselves.

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, "Rainbow Dash, can you carry him to the hospital? The rest of us will check if anypony's injured."

Rainbow Dash gave a salute before moving over to the unconscious stallion. Rarity levitated Mathew's body onto her back._ Sweet Celestia! He's heavier than I thought!_ Rainbow thought as she took to the air in a second.

Even weighed down, Rainbow Dash soared through the air with great speed. The wind whipped her mane in all directions as she moved towards the hospital, the white building getting closer and closer.

Nurse Redheart finished organizing the last of the patient's paperwork. All of the papers were neatly placed in a horizontal slot on the nurse's station. Redheart stood up from her small chair, prepared to do her rounds as the double doors to the hospital suddenly burst open. A gust of wind threw all of those neatly organized onto the clean sterile floor. Redheart prepared to scold the pony who had just destroyed a perfectly organized desk. Redheart's voice died in her throat as she looked towards the door, met with the sight of Rainbow Dash carrying an unconscious pony on her back.

"This pony needs a doctor! Fast!" Rainbow Dash announced to the Nurse.

Nurse Redheart called for a stretcher, a group of ponies rushing out of the hallway to collect Mathew from the cyan Pegasus's back. The ponies rushed Mathew into the closest observation room.

Rainbow Dash made to exit the building, but Nurse Redheart called out to her, "Miss Dash! Before you leave, you need to sign him in."

Rainbow Dash turned to the nurse, "Um, yeah. Can we skip all that? I need to check up on Ponyville."

The Nurse tapped her hoof impatiently, "Health codes state that every pony has to be accounted for and this stallion needs someone to sign for him." The cyan Pegasus groaned as she moved to the nurse's desk, ready to start signing whatever was needed.

0 0 0

Twilight moved about the group of ponies standing in the center of town. After the hydra left, the townsfolk decided to return to their homes. Twilight and Applejack check each pony individually as Pinkie Pie was asked to count everypony, making sure no one was missing. Rarity took the CMC to her home to keep them away from any of the damaged buildings and glass shards glistening under Celestia's sun. Twilight and Applejack were surprised as Pinkie returned with news that everypony was there. Only a few of the ponies were injured, most were able to escape the town unharmed. The rest however had different accounts.

"One more time, please?" Twilight asked, eyebrow raised as she examined Carrot top.

Carrot Top said again, "I was running from the hydra for dear life, until I tripped on something. When I turned around, the hydra was about to stomp on me, then nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah," Carrot Top answered sheepishly, "I closed my eyes before the foot came down, then when I opened my eyes I was two blocks away. I don't know what happened. I was there. Then I was down the street. Sorry, Princess. I don't know anything else."

Twilight sighed, before smiling and sending Carrot Top off, "It's alright, Carrot Top. Thank you for answering my questions."

Twilight thought deeply, unsure of what to make of this situation. It's great that all of the ponies were unharmed, but how they got that way was baffling. Pinkie's shrill cry broke Twilight out of her reveries, "Look! The Princess!"

All eyes followed the pink hoof pointed towards the sky. A golden chariot pulled by two white Pegasus wearing glittering golden armor descended from the clouds to land softly in the dirt. Princess Celestia, wearing her traditional crown with her long multi-colored mane flowing in the wind behind her, stepped lightly out of the carriage as it landed. The princess overlooked the crowd, her visible eye showing relief to see that all of the ponies in front of her were unharmed. Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie rushed forward to meet her. Everypony bowed to the Princess of the Sun.

Celestia addressed Twilight, "Twilight, are there any seriously injured?"

Twilight reported, "Only a few injuries, but not life threatening."

"Good to hear," Celestia sighed. "When I saw the blast of dark energy, I immediately set out to see if you needed assistance. Looks like you and your friends didn't need my help."

Twilight blushed slightly, rubbing the back of her head in awkwardness, "Actually princess, we didn't beat the hydra."

Celestia's eye widened in surprise, "Then who did?"

"Well…um," Twilight mumbled, searching for the right words.

Applejack took over, "Some alicorn beat the stuffing out of the varmint."

"Yeah, that."

Celestia thought she was missing something here, "Um, what happened exactly?"

Before Twilight could begin, Pinkie Pie jumped in, "It was amazing! The alicorn was all like AGH! The hydra was all like GRAH! Then there were explosions and lights! And it was so pretty!"

"What?"

Applejack put a hoof to Pinkie's muzzle, "What Pinkie's trying to say is that some alicorn came out of nowhere and caught the hydra's foot as it was about to step on my sisters and Twilight." Celestia gasped, turning to Twilight with worry in her eye. Applejack continued, "They're alright now, Princess. Rarity took my sister and her friends to her house to look after them while we stayed here to check on everypony. But anyway, the pony then freaking threw the hydra out of town then proceeded to deliver the smack down of a lifetime. It was brutal!"

Celestia, in all of her years had never quite heard such a story like that before. _Another alicorn? How is that possible?_ "I think it would be best if I met this alicorn. She seems powerful and I would personally like to thank them for driving that hydra away."

_Why are they snickering?_ Celestia raised a confused eyebrow as the girls tried to contain their mirth, the stress of the hydra making itself apparent. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Kinda Princess," Applejack chuckled.

Twilight tried to explain, "Well, Princess Celestia, that alicorn doesn't have a second X chromosome."

"Wait, what?" Celestia was even more confused now.

"That ponies not a sister, per say," Applejack responded.

"Huh?"

"He's a boy," Pinkie answered, rolling on the ground.

"How is that possible?" Celestia asked, shocked at this new revelation and only receiving shrugs from the ponies in front of her. Composing herself, Celestia said, "Well, I'll just have to meet him and ask. As for Ponyville, when I return to Canterlot I'll send construction crews to start rebuilding the destroyed homes." Celestia stopped, noticing a few absent members of the town, "Where is Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash? I don't see them among the crowd."

"Oh," Twilight remembered, "Fluttershy's in Canterlot right now. She was asked to assist the park service with a nasty dispute between the squirrels and the woodpeckers. Rainbow Dash dropped the alicorn at the hospital."

"I see," Celestia responded, before motioning to the three to follow her. The guards pulling the carriage formed up on each side of Celestia as they marched her to the hospital.

0 0 0

Celestia and the group made it to Ponyville hospital after a quick fifteen minute walk, Celestia getting more details on the hydra as she questioned Twilight more. "A dark barrier you say?"

"Yes, Princess," Twilight nodded. "It blocked my most powerful spell."

"Hm," Celestia hummed to herself. "That does not bode well. It would take an incredibly powerful and evil entity to create a barrier able to deflect your spell, Twilight."

The small group approached the large double doors of the hospital, hearing a very loud voice shout, "How in the hay am I suppose to know if he's allergic to anything! I just met the guy!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as Celestia chuckled, pushing open the door to find Rainbow Dash sitting on one of the green lobby chairs with a chart in her hooves staring daggers at the Nurse behind the desk. The pair stopped their banter as Celestia entered the room, the pair rushing in front of her to bow. Celestia waved them off, turning to Nurse Redheart, "How is the patient?"

Nurse Redheart answered, "Dr. Lifesaver is still working on him. He should be out soon with some news."

The princess nodded in understanding, offering her thanks before taking a seat on one of the cold chairs. The rest of the group joined her, partaking in some small talk to fill the time. The wait wasn't long, as an orange unicorn with a short brown mane walked into the lobby, levitating a brown clipboard in front of his face.

As he removed the clipboard, he nearly had a heart attack seeing Princess Celestia waiting patiently in the lobby. After stumbling over his words, Dr. Lifesaver finally spat out, "Can I help you p-Princess?"

Celestia responded with a kind smile, "I just wanted to see how the pony Rainbow Dash brought in was doing?"

The doctor turned to his notes, "Oh, he's doing quite well actually. He's asleep right now."

"Wait, what?" asked Twilight, unsure of if the doctor was joking. Applejack sharing her surprise, they both saw the guy get hit by the hydra's blast. _You'd expect the fellar would have something worst than a few bruises and cuts._

"He had a few burns and a nasty cut on his side, but other than that he just looks exhausted," Dr. Lifesaver responded turning towards Twilight. "There was no life threatening injuries that I could find. All I had to do was stitch up his side and clean those burns."

"B-b-but," Twilight stuttered, "I saw him take a full blast from three hydra's heads. How in all of Equestria did he survive that?"

The doctor shrugged, "He's a tough pony." Turning back to the notes, Dr. Lifesaver read off the notes he made, "He had minor blood loss, there was a pre-existing cut on his left leg and some on his barrel, some bruising along the ribs and face, some internal organs showed bruising, and has shown signs of extensive physical exertion (sweet, heavy breathing, constant muscle trembling)." Dr. Lifesaver took a breath, before returning to the group in front of him, "It seems to me as if he just needed some sleep and fluids. I put him on an IV drip before moving him into a room."

Celestia asked, "What's your prescription, Doctor?"

Dr. Lifesaver answered, "Some rest, a goodnights sleep, and no strenuous activities for a period of time."

"But what if we need to talk to him? We can't talk to a sleeping pony." asked Applejack.

The doctor only shrugged, "Sorry, he's in a pretty deep sleep right now. He didn't even wake up as I was stitching him up."

"Wait!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "Didn't you give him a shot to numb him before you started stitching his skin back together?"

"No, Miss Dash," Lifesaver answered. "Since we have no physical history of him here, I couldn't just give him an anesthetic. He could have an allergic reaction. Plus, he didn't respond to any of my prodding or attempts to wake him which allowed me to work while he was unconscious."

"Thank you, doctor," Celeastia said with a smile. Doctor Lifesaver left the group to return to his other patients. The princess turning to Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, announced "I guess we'll just have to wait for him to wake up."

Applejack sighed as she made to leave, "Well, I've got to go. I'm gonna grab Apple Bloom and take her home."

Rainbow Dash flew into the air, "I'm gonna go, latter princess!" The Pegasus flew out the double door, irritating Nurse Redheart more as her papers were once again scattered on the ground.

Pinkie Pie said her goodbyes, "Bye, Princess Celestia! Bye, Twilight! I've got a welcome party to plan!" With that, the pink pony bounced out of the hospital wearing a wide grin.

Celestia turned to Twilight, "Twilight." Her faithful student turned to her expectantly. "As soon as that pony is awake, I would like you to send a letter to me. I would very much like to meet him as soon as possible."

Twilight bowed to her teacher before they left the hospital, Celestia to return to Canterlot and Twilight to check on the rest of Ponyville.


	4. Chapter 4

A Demon in Ponyville

Ch. 4: Waking Up at Noon and It's Still Too Early

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony. All other characters are mine.

A full day passed after the hydra attacked. Crews of construction ponies arrived on the early train to Ponyville as the sun rose. Debris removal began immediately for the destroyed homes, the day going by quickly for the construction workers as they worked alongside several of the townsfolk. Any pony without a home was able to find accommodations at the Town Hall, its main room being converted into a temporary rec-center complete with fold out cots, blankets, and a table full of breakfast foods pushed into the far corner.

On the second floor in the Mayor's office, Twilight stood next to Mayor Mare looking over the construction plans lying across the Mayor's desk, "Mayor, from what the construction crews said, the debris should be cleared by tomorrow. With the help of townsfolk, we should be able to finish constructing the new homes by next week."

"How many homes were condemned by the crews?" Mayor asked.

Twilight rummaged through the various documents, "Let's see. Twelve homes were destroyed to the point without hope of being saved. Another six homes need major repairs. And every window in Ponyville needs to be replaced."

"Oh," the Mayor sighed, "At least the construction will be quick. I'm just glad no pony was harmed during the attack."

Twilight nodded, before a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh!" Mayor Mare turned to her, an eyebrow raised. Twilight sheepishly, "I just forgot, I'm suppose to check up on somepony. Is there anything else we needed to go over?"

The Mayor thought for a moment, before shaking her head, "Not that I can think of."

Twilight smiled, taking her leave, "Thank you Mayor. I'll come back later to check up on things. Bye." Twilight waved before she left the office, taking the stairs to the first floor. Twilight smiled as she greeted the various ponies who said hello to her. Exiting the Hall, Twilight was greeted by a very worried yellow Pegasus with a flowing pink mane whipping in her mad rush towards the Town Hall.

Twilight smiled, as Fluttershy skidded to a halt in front of her. Twilight waited for Fluttershy to catch her breath, part of her mane dropped over her face. Fluttershy asked, a squeak of a whisper escaping her muzzle, "My goodness, Twilight! I was so worried about you and the others! Is everypony alright?"

"Yes, Fluttershy," Twilight comforted her friend. "But I've got to ask, when did you get back?"

Fluttershy answered, "When Celestia told me about the hydra, I meant to leave immediately but the train to Ponyville was cancelled due to construction crews and supplies being shipped. I had to wait for the next day for the next available train."

Twilight nodded, offering her friend a quick hug, "It's good to have you back Fluttershy. I was about to check on a pony, would you like to join me and tell me all about your trip?"

"Oh, I'd love too," Fluttershy smiled as the pair made their way to the Ponyville hospital.

Nurse Whitecoat, a white earth pony with a black mane pulled up into a bun, sat at the reception desk, scribbling notes on the patients she had just checked on. A blur of motion entered the edge of her vision, causing her to look up from the form. Nurse Whitecoat stared confusedly at the chocolate cupcake sitting on desk right in front of her, with a swirl of pink and white frosting with a cherry on top. Checking the empty lobby to ensure it was in fact empty, Nurse Whitecoat shrugged at the strange occurrence before munching on the very sweet and delicious treat. Strange things tend to occur in Ponyville, the ponies eventually got use to it over time.

Inside the last patient room laid the unconscious form of Mathew, a serene look on his muzzle as he slept quietly as the still air was filled Mathew's rhythmic breathing and the constant beep of the heart monitor. To his left, a heart monitor and IV drip stood. On the other side sat a grey metal nightstand filled with a white pitcher of water and plastic cup along with a single cupcake, with yellow frosting on top.

0 0 0

_**Beatrice**_

**Lying with the gold stallion on a light green mattress, a thin girl with pale skin and long sleek black hair that shone like a raven's feathers, her face sharp, high cheekbones and deep green eyes looked into Mathew's. Sunlight shined onto her back and hair, lighting the area behind her. Eyes filled with a sad happiness, her happiness was just sharing being with him.**_**Those eyes. Those green beautiful eyes.**_**She gently stroked the stallion's cheek, her thin lips wearing a soft smile. It was a sad smile, she smiled for his sake.**

**Even though his body had changed, both physically and mentally apparently, he could still feel her soft touch. Those slim fingers gentle brushing against his furred cheek, even with a different body those fingers were still warm and comforting. She offered him some of the few comforts her found in his world. Time passed, but they didn't notice. Time meant nothing here. Words meant nothing here.**

**Here, in this moment, Mathew was happy. Happy to just to share one moment with her, with his Beatrice.**

With a jerk, Mathew was pulled away from her and into the cold light blue room of Ponyville hospital. The stallion sat straight up, casting the thin green blanket towards the end of his bed. The constant beeping of the heart monitor more than enough information to tell him he was in a hospital. _Why do all of the good dreams end so soon?_ Mathew groaned to himself, lying back on the hard plastic mattress feeling the burning on his right side and the stiffness in his muscles telling him he woke up way too early. _Strange, since the clock reads 11:52 A.M._

Mathew rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Looking around the room, Mathew was relieved that no other patients occupied the two beds to his left. To his right sat a pitcher of water and a delicious looking cupcake. _That was nice of someone._

Grabbing the cupcake with a hoof. . . _Wait, what?_Like glue, the sugary treat was sticking to the end of his leg. Bringing it closer, Mathew looked closely at the appendage holding the food with no visible means of support. Switching the cupcake to his other hoof, Mathew was just as surprised as the second hoof performed the same act of defying physics. _How the hell? W-What's this? That doesn't make any sense? OH NEVER MIND!_Mathew decided just to say, "F**k it!" and leave it at that. Mathew turned to treat, stomach grumbling as he took a large bite. Words could not describe the deliciousness of the yellow sponge cake. It was vanilla cake with a swirl creamy frosting and the hint of lemon. It was the perfect concoction of sweet flavors with a light hint of sourness.

The cake satisfied his stomach to an extent._At least it stopped it from growling._ Another important fact entered Mathew's mind. "I need to pee," Mathew muttered draping hind his legs over the side of his bed before he dropped to the floor. One problem. Mathew forgot he had no feet.

0 0 0

Fluttershy and Twilight opened the double doors to the hospital lobby. Fluttershy commenting, "Oh! I almost forgot! Your brother and Cadence were visiting Canterlot when I left."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Why were they in Canterlot?"

Fluttershy giggled as they approached the nurse behind the desk, "Cadence said something about Shining Armor forgetting to fill out some paperwork."

The two enjoyed a few chuckled before turning to Nurse Whitecoat, Twilight asking, "How's the stallion from yesterday doing?"

"He was still asleep when I checked up on him," the nurse answered.

**BAM!**

"SON OF A BITCH! I LANDED ON MY TAIL!" a very angry and loud voice filled the hospital, causing Fluttershy to jump behind Twilight.

"I guess he's not asleep anymore," Twilight muttered as Mathew continued his tirade.

"THAT HURT LIKE A MO********ER! GOD DAMNIT! WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH? I MEAN SWEET JESUS, IT'S LIKE A RED HOT POKER'S BEING SHOVED UP MY A**!" The three heard hooves clatter against the hard tile floor, as Mathew grumbled, "That's a fine way to wake up," before a door slammed shut.

Nurse Whitecoat nervously said, "I'll take you to him." Motioning towards the hallway, the nurse lead Fluttershy and Twilight to the last room on the right. The nurse opened the door, allowing them entrance before she returned to her post. Twilight and Fluttershy waited patiently next to the only bed that showed any sign of use. The bathroom door remained shut, a yellow light seeping under the small gap.

Inside the bathroom, Mathew discovered his greatest challenge yet in Equestria. A challenge so difficult, it will test him in a way he had never been tested before. Never has he faced a challenger like this. Mathew looked intently down at a white porcelain toilet boil, with one question filling his mind.

"How do I even use this?" Twilight and Fluttershy heard from the closed door. "How did ponies even make toilets like human toilets? Why did they make them like this? I mean, just… UH!" The two exchanged confused looks as several curses and banging echoed from the room, Mathew slipping on the tilled floor and hitting the boil with his rump. _OH GOD, do I miss feet! And hands!_ The girls chuckled as they heard a splash and high pitched scream, a tail was definitely not suppose to go into the toilet water.

Finally, Twilight and Fluttershy heard the sound of flushing and a very relieved sigh. Mathew moved toward the sink, turning on warm water before washing his hooves. Splashing some water of his face, Mathew looked at the reflection in the mirror._Man! I have some big ears._ Mathew though as he made them flatten against his head and pop up again.

Mathew turned off the water and dried his hooves pulling the heart monitor and IV drop with his left hoof. Turning off the light before exiting the bathroom, Mathew come face to face with a purple unicorn/Pegasus and a yellow Pegasus. Mathew instantly recognized the purple one, "Hello."

"Hi," Twilight answered, still not sure of what to make of him. _He sure does have a very colorful vocabulary_.

_Again with the awkward silence._ Mathew waited for the other ponies to start the conversation, before sighting. "So, who are you exactly?"

Twilight gasped, "Oh, sorry about that. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this here is Fluttershy."

Twilight offered Mathew a hoof, which Mathew accepted it responding, "Pleasure, I'm Mathew."

"Mathew?" Twilight repeated slowly, the name foreign on her tongue.

Mathew's eyebrow shot up, "Problem?"

Twilight quickly explain, "Oh, no! I've just never heard of a name like Mathew before. I don't think I know of anypony named Mathew."

_Weird._ Mathew turned to the yellow Pegasus, who was hiding behind her pink mane. Mathew asked her, "Are you alright miss?"

Fluttershy squeaked, surprised that Mathew would address her, and decided to move behind Twilight. Mathew shot Twilight a confused look, the princess responding with a soft smile, "Fluttershy's a little shy."

_NOOOOOO. Really?_ Mathew shrugged, brushing off the strange behavior, to ask Twilight, "Well, Miss. Sparkle, could you by chance tell me where I am?"

Twilight answered, "You're in the Ponyville Hospital."

"Ponyville?" _Really? That's the best name these ponies could come up with._

"Yep," Twilight answered, in a very chipper manner as she decided to ask some of the questions she's be dying to ask Mathew. "Would you by chance answer some of the questions I have for you?"

"Sure," Mathew answered, seeing nothing wrong with that.

"Great!" Twilight exclaimed, "We can go to my library, I have to write a letter anyway. We can get comfortable and have a cup of tea while we talk."

_Why do I get the feeling I already visited there?_ Mathew scratched the back of his head, a fuzzy vision of books and pink entering his head.

Dismissing the thought, Mathew followed Twilight out of the room to the front desk. Nurse Whitecoat prepared the discharge forms and remove the IV from his veins, Mathew only had to sign on the dotted line with a pen as he tried to ignore the fact that his hoof, a flat surface, was able to grab things. _There's crazy, and then there's this._

The three left the sterile environment, walking out into the bright morning sun. Mathew squinted as the sun blinded him for a moment. When he could see again, Mathew continued to walk with Twilight and Fluttershy ignoring the rustling in the bushes to his left. Mathew asked Twilight, "What country is Ponyville in?"

Twilight gave him a small look of concern, "Equestria. Why?"

Mathew shrugged, "I just wanted to know where I am."

"What do you mean?"

Mathew explained, "I kinda fell out of the sky next to that forest over there," pointing towards the Everfree Forest.

Before Twilight was able to delve into Mathew's answer, a blur of pink rushed from the bushes straight at Mathew with a fierce battle cry. "Gotcha!"

Pinkie missed Mathew as he vanished in front of her, causing the party pony to crash into the dirt again. Mathew, to Twilight's and Fluttershy's surprise, was cowering behind Fluttershy, "Keep her away from me! She scares me!" _She's like the female version of Jack Nicholson, only pink._

"Oh come on!" Pinkie yelled, bouncing up and down, "I just want give you a big hug for saving us yesterday!"

"By chance, does that include getting shot at by a canon?" Mathew asked timidly. Twilight couldn't help but release a snort of laughter at the stallion's antics. He could face a four headed hydra without any sign of fear, but when it comes to Pinkie Pie he looked terrified.

"Aw! You figured out the surprise, Mathew!" Pinkie giggled.

_I don't think she's kidding._ The hair on the back of Mathew's mane stood on edge as Mathew made sure to keep Twilight between him and her.

Twilight shook her head, turning to Pinkie, "OK. Pinkie Pie, I think Mathew needs a break. Let's just calm down."

Pinkie stopped her bouncing as Mathew looked at her with a very disturbed thought entering his head, "How did you know my name?"

Pinkie Pie answered, "Oh, I was outside your window."

_BECAUSE that's not creepy at all!_ Mathew began to slowly move farther away from the pony. Twilight rubbing her forehead, "Pinkie, why were you outside of Mathew's window?"

"I was just leaving. I wanted to drop off a cupcake for you." Pinkie Pie rushed towards Mathew, pushing her face into his face, "Did you like it? Huh? HUH? HUH?!"

"If I say yes, will you get the hell out of my face?" Mathew responded as those blue eyes bulged in their sockets, seriously creeping him the f**k out.

Twilight's purple aura covered Pinkie Pie, before the party pony was levitated to Twilight's side. _What was that?_ Mathew eyed Twilight with interest, sensing a very strong amount of energy inside her, but not sensing the energy she used._It's almost like a special ability, but I can't sense it. I don't feel any energy from it._

Twilight asked politely, "Pinkie, has anypony ever told you about personal space?"

Pinkie Pie smiled, "Now that you mention it, Mr. and Mrs. Cake do keep mentioning it to me."

_And the award for craziest person I have ever met goes to._

Twilight turned to Mathew, "Sorry about that. Pinkie's a little…" _Insane, psychotic, disturbed, Jeffery Dahmer? Ok, even I thought that one was a little mean._ "unusual. She tends to get overexcited about meeting new ponies." _Understatement of the millennium!_

Mathew noticed Pinkie Pie vibrating, her cotton candy mane bouncing along with her every movement. "I'll take your word for it."

"Come on everypony, let's head to the library," Twilight instructed, taking the lead with Mathew and Fluttershy to her left. Pinkie Pie followed along as Fluttershy continued to shoot Mathew various looks before swiftly turning back.

Mathew looked Twilight over, trying to understand her. _What was that purple aura? It wasn't any ability I've ever seen. Telekinesis? Maybe, but I doubt telekinesis would has such a flashy residue. Oh, she's looking at!_Mathew quickly looked away as Twilight's purple eyes turned to him, "Is something wrong?"

"No," Mathew began, "I was wondering what was with the glowing purple energy was? I haven't seen anything like it before."

"You mean magic?" _Magic. Really?_

"Yeah, magic. How did you use it?" Mathew inquired.

"All unicorns and alicorns can use magic, through their horns. Haven't you used magic before?" Twilight looked at him with some confusion.

"Nope. Also, what's an alicorn?"

"I'm an alicorn and so are you," Twilight sounded annoyed, as if explaining two plus two equals four. Twilight ignited her horn to demonstrate, Mathew's curiosity peeked.

"Wait, I'm an alicorn?"

"What else would you be?" Pinkie asked, giggling at Mathew gawking expression.

"So let me get this straight," Mathew trying to understand as all of these ponies were giving him some weird looks, "If a pony has a horn and wings, it's what you call an alicorn right?"

"Yes."

"And," Mathew stressed this, "all ponies with horns can do magic. Right?"

"Yes," Twilight answered while slowing creating some distance between the two. "How could you not know this? This is basic knowledge a foal would know."

Fluttershy commented, "It's almost like you've never been a pony before."

"Well, that's because I wasn't a pony before landing here," Mathew stated offhandedly. Mathew continued on for several steps, stopping when he noticed that all three ponies had stopped moving. Turning back, Mathew asked, "What?"

"You weren't a pony?" Twilight whispered, trying to comprehend what Mathew had just said. "Then what were you?"

Mathew opened his maw, to answer then closed it. The answer more complicated than what he wanted to answer. "I use to be human."

Twilight turned to her left, finding Pinkie Pie looking at her with a wide smile she knew all too well. That look had 'I told you so' written all over it. Pinkie Pie yelled, pointing at Mathew "I knew it! You're an alien!"

Mathew's eyebrows arched, wanting to ask how she knew he wasn't from these lands. But then stopped himself, _Just save yourself a headache and don't question Pinkie there._

"OH!" Pinkie Pie screamed, "I need to change my party design! It'll be a welcome to Ponyville Mr. Alien party after all! YEAH!" With that, Pinkie tore down the street leaving trail of dusk in her wake.

_Well, that got her out of my hair, or mane. I guess._

Mathew turned away from Pinkie's impromptu escape, to find Fluttershy cowering behind Twilight again, her shaking whisper asking, "Are you here to invade us?"

_Really? I save your town and your worried that I'm here to invade you._ "No," Mathew answered bluntly.

Fluttershy did not look convinced. Twilight looked at Mathew with an expression of pure fascination, much like a child looks when going to a candy store. _The knowledge he could share with us!_In a surprising burst of speed, Twilight rushed by Mathew and grabbed his tail with her mouth yelling, "To the library!" With everypony watching with surprise, Twilight dragged Mathew through the center of the street leaving two trenches stretching down the center from Mathew's unmoving hooves.

Mathew decided to go along with it, not wanting to hurt this pony's feelings. _She seems nice, a little too trusting in my opinion. But nice._ Mathew called out to Twilight, "I can walk myself, you know."

Twilight didn't respond as she drew closer to her home, Fluttershy choosing to stick close to her side. Mathew noted several of the ponies the group passed giving him weird looks, Mathew only able to smile sheepishly. Twilight opened the red door with magic, and then proceeded to throw herself and her passenger through the entryway and into the library. Fluttershy closed the door behind them, Mathew being deposited in the center of the circular roomed filled to the brim with books.

Mathew looked around the large circlular room, books filling every available inch of shelf space. Mathew couldn't help but smirk at the irony of the situation. _A library inside a tree. I'll give it to you Equestria. That's pretty clever._

Twilight called upstairs, "SPIKE!"

Mathew turned to Fluttershy to ask something, but the shy Pegasus only hid behind her pink mane. Twilight motioned for Mathew to sit on a small cushion across from her as she took her seat. As he sat, Mathew saw Twilight levitate a small notebook and quill in front of her as Fluttershy took a seat next to her. _I can see where this is going._

Mathew suppressed a shudder, knowing that a long Q and A was about to happen. Twilight cleared her throat, but the padding of small feet against hard wood floor stopped her. Turning towards the stair, Mathew was surprised as a small purple dragon descended the steps. _Woah. A dragon._ Mathew smirked slightly, _This place just got a little better._

Spike asked, "Yes, Twilight?"

Twilight answered, "Can you send a letter to the princess? I need you to tell her, Mathew's awake."

"Who's Mathew?"

Twilight pointed towards the gold alicorn, who simply offered a wave and a friendly, "Hello."

Spike sighed, going over to the desk and rummaging through the desk for a scroll and quill. Mathew shot Twilight an annoyed look, causing her excited smile to falter. "Why do you need to send a letter to your princess about me?"

Twilight answered, "Well, after you were taken to the hospital Princess Celestia arrived to find that no pony was injured thanks to you. You were still unconscious and she wanted to talk to you."

_I've got nothing._Mathew sighed defeated as his ears flattened, knowing that an extensive round of questioning would eventually occur. _Might as well get it over with sooner than later._Mathew asked with forced politeness, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Before Twilight could ask, a flash of green fire caught Mathew's attention. Mathew tensed as he turned to the source, finding Spike lighting the letter he had just written on fire and turning it into dust. Spike gave Mathew a confused look, as Mathew's mouth hung open, "What?"

"Why did you light that letter on fire?" Mathew asked. _Maybe dragons like to party?_

Spike looked even more confused, "That's how I send Twilight's letters to the Princess. I burn them, and then she receives them a few moments later."

_So, it's like instant messaging only for pyromaniacs. Truly the safest way to send a letter!_Mathew responded, "How does that work? You burn a letter and the receiver gets it from the ashes? That doesn't make sense."

"That's because it's magic," Twilight answered, as if that explained the entire thing. _That's not an reasonable answer._

Mathew rubbed his forehead, trying to quell multiple questions he really wanted to ask. A sudden burp and a whoosh of fire caused Mathew to flinch, turning to the dragon to find the reptile holding another letter. _How the hell did that happen? J-j-just never mind!_ Mathew sighed with defeat.

Unraveling the parchment, Spike quickly scanned the curved handwriting, "Uh, Twilight. We may have to cancel our questions. The princess has just sent a chariot to Ponyville, she wants us, Mathew and the rest of the elements to meet with her in Canterlot."

Spike shot Mathew a confused look when a snort of laughter escaped his muzzle. Twilight looked at him too with confusion. Mathew waved a hoof in front of him, "Sorry. Sorry, didn't mean to offend."

Twilight groaned as she set down her notepad. _SO CLOSE!_ Twilight moved towards the door, saying, "I'll head out and grab the girls. Spike, why don't you keep Fluttershy and Mathew company while I'm out."

Opening the door, all four occupants of the library gasped in surprise as Pinkie Pie stood in front of the door holding Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack in her front forelegs. "It's OK Twilight, I already got them right here!" Pinkie Pie cheered loudly, throwing all of her passengers into the library.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity grumbled as they picked themselves off of the cold hardwood floor. Mathew's maw wide open, trying to figure out how she was able to carry that many ponies. Twilight rubbed a hoof to her head, trying to loosen the tension building in her forehead. Twilight asked, "Pinkie, how did you know I was just about to grab you and the girls?"

Pinkie Pie released a wide all-knowing smile as she entered the library, "Oh, I just read ahead while the author wasn't looking." Closing the door with her tail.

_Wait, what?_ Sparks flew from Mathew's brain, unable to compute what Pinkie Pie had just said. Spike snorted with laughter as steam rose from the stallion's ears. Mathew looked at Pinkie with large confusing eyes as his left eye started to develop a twitch.

Twilight sighed, turning towards the three that just arrived. "Now I know you must be wondering why Pinkie Pie brought you here."

"I sure as hay would like to know," Applejack respond.

"Yeah, what's the deal Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Really darling, you should have just asked us to join you at the library instead of dragging us around like a pile of luggage," Rarity comment, more towards Pinkie Pie than anypony else.

"Now everypony," Twilight tried to calm the crowd down as tensions rose, "Princess Celestia wants each of us to go to Canterlot with Mathew here." Twilight pointed towards Mathew, sitting silently on the cushion as his face continued to twitch as Pinkie Pie bounced around the room humming merrily to herself.

"Why does she want us to go to Canterlot?" Applejack asked.

Twilight turned to Spike, who merely shrugged, "She wants you there when she meets Mathew."

Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash decided to leave it at that, choosing to move over to the cushions. Twilight was the only one to sit next to Mathew, the rest taking up occupation next to Fluttershy. Silence crept into the group, each pony looking from one to the other, then to Mathew, then to Twilight, then to Mathew. No one knew what to say. After Mathew's brain finally rebooted, he looked around the room. _So this is what it feels like being the third wheel. Or eighth wheel in this situation. Did that make any sense?_

Mathew opened his mouth to try to introduce some kind of conversation, but a certain pink energy crawled up the wall behind him catching his attention. Mathew asked, "Is she always like this?"

Everypony looked at Mathew, trying to understand who he was talking about. But he disappeared as Pinkie crashed headfirst onto the cushion. Driving her head through the cushion and into the floor. Everypony and Spike gasped in surprise. Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned to look at each other, a solid object suddenly occupying the space between them.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash jumped, gaping at Mathew sitting in between the two. The pink pony pulled her head out of the floor, before collapsing on the ground. Her eyes crossed mumbling incoherently into the air. "Oh! Look at all the dancing leprechauns."

Instead of answering him, Rainbow jumped off the cushion turning to face Mathew growling, "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

Rainbow Dash repeated, "How'd you vanish from that cushion to this one?"

Twilight answered, "He teleported." Turning toward Mathew, Twilight asked hopefully, "Right?"

"Nope."

"Then how did you do it?" Rainbow Dash asked again.

Mathew responded, "Same as you, a simple thought then an action. Your eyes were unable to track my movement."

"Wait, what?" asked everypony in the room.

Mathew continued, "Let's just say, I moved faster than your eyes could see me."

Rainbow Dash looked at Mathew with a confused look, Twilight's jaw hanging loose on its hinges. Applejack scratched the back of her head, "So, yu're saying ya moved faster than we could see ya?" _Whoo-we he must be faster than Rainbow Dash to do that!_

"Yes."

Twilight asked, "How?"

Mathew opened his mouth to answer, but then remembered that they were supposed to meet some princess today. Meaning he'd have to try and explain the same principles to them along with these six ponies. _And I do hate repeating myself._ "I'll save that answer for later." Before they could protest, Mathew held up a hoof, "I would prefer not to have to answer the same questions for you and then for your princess. I promise I'll explain everything later. Is that fine with you?"

The ponies and Spike agreed after several moments of deep thought. It wouldn't hurt to wait for Princess Celestia to be there. The ponies and Spike waited in the library, forcing small talk to pass the time. Luckily the wait wasn't long, the sun barely beginning its decent into the western hemisphere. Four white Pegasus, pulling a large golden chariot behind them, landed in front of the library. Twilight motioned for Mathew to exit first. Mathew decided not to refute and left. Mathew casually jumped into the chariot, taking a purple cushioned seat on the far side as Twilight, Spike along with the rest jumped in behind him.

Mathew thought for a moment, thinking how strange this world was. _Talking ponies, a princess, hydras that shoot lasers from their mouths, unicorns, and now magic. This is the stuff of some weird fantasy, that's for sure._ Mathew shrugged with a light chuckle. _Oh, well. Let's go see the princess_

With a swift flap of their wings, the four Pegasus launched themselves into the air and towards Canterlot.


	5. Chapter 5

A Demon in Ponyville  
Chapter 5: First Impressions

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. All other characters are mine.

Mathew leaned back against the edge of the carriage, his head dangling over the edge on his long neck. Matthew enjoyed the soothing experience of the wind rushing through his mane with his forelegs resting against the edge of the chariot. The rest of the chariot's occupants were not as enthralled as Matthew's hind legs rested against the floor, his underbelly visible to them. Twilight blushed as she turned away. Matthew not realizing that his bits were visible to the entire world to see or he merely forgot that he was no longer wearing pants. The rest of the girls chose to turn away. Rarity threw Matthew a stern look for showing such lack of taste.

The chariot flew through the air at great speed towards the Capital of Equestria, Canterlot. Carved into the side of a mountain, the white walls and buildings shone under the bright sunlight. Bright rays of sunlight glinting off the golden roofs as the chariot circled once before landing. Many of the ponies underneath did not pay any attention as a chariot flew towards the palace touching down in the large Plaza of cobblestone.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Spike disembarked from the chariot, the group moving towards the tall golden double doors allowing entrance to the palace. Twilight stopped when she realized the group was missing one. Turning back, the princess sighed in exasperation when she saw Mathew snoozing comfortably in the chariot.

"Mathew care to join us?" Twilight yelled.

Matthew jerked awake. Looking around, Matthew was greeted with the site of the polished stone of the courtyard surrounded by armored ponies wearing golden armor, glittering under the sun. Stretching his legs Matthew jumped out of the chariot moving over to the group. "Did you have a good nap?" Twilight asked sarcastically

Matthew responded sarcastically, "I wasn't sleeping. There was a bug in my eye and I was trying to suffocate it to death."

All the girls shook her head despairingly as they made their way to the grand entrance. _Man whoever lives here must be loaded!_ At least twenty five feet tall, these magnificent doors were a skeptical to see. The door was covered in the depiction of a sun on the left side and a moon on the other surrounded by a boarder of intertwining tree branches. Two large circled hinges sat on each side of the split formed in the center of the door, both in the shape of a circlet of olive branches. A Royal guard stood ready at each side of the door at attention, one a white Pegasus and the other a grey Pegasus. Twilight waved a hoof to the pair. The guards immediately went into action, each one taking one of the door knobs in their mouths and pulling open the doors. The two doors slide open with a soft scraping of stone echoing in the courtyard to reveal the spacious entry way.

Mathew marveled at the polish floor, the grand stair case of pure white marble with matching black tiles and the banners of light blues and pinks draped across the mirrored ceiling and the pillars of the guard rails. _There's way too much pink._

Standing in the center of this spacious room stood a tall white unicorn with the blue main and a very pink alicorn with a mane of purple and other colors, looking expectantly at the doorway. Mathew looked over the pair, the unicorn was as well built like him and the alicorn looked a little fragile.

Shining Armor and Princess Cadence waited with great anticipation for their sister's arrival. Upon seeing them Twilight rushed over to the pair, wrapping her forelegs around them, "Shiny! Cadence!" When the three disengaged Twilight turned to Cadence and they began to do something strange. Matthew raised an eyebrow, _What the hell is this?_

Twilight and Cadence began to do some strange jig, "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake." Mathew could not comprehend what had just happened as the two alicorns giggled excitedly. It was so cute, Mathew wanted to throw up. _My god this is hell._

Cadence turned to the rest of the girls, "It's good to see you all again."

Twilight turned to the white unicorn smiling widely, "When did you get in?"

Cadence answered, "Yesterday. Shining Armor had to take care of some paperwork for the Princess."

Shining Armor commented, "It's just a little paperwork. No harm done."

Cadence whispered to Twilight, "It's more than a month late." All of the girls enjoyed a giggle at Shining Armor's expense.

Fluttershy asked, "How have you two been?"

Shining armor shrugged, "Everything's been a little slow at the Crystal Empire, but we've been able to keep busy getting ready for the Equestrian games." _Am I the only one who would be disappointed if it wasn't made out of crystal?_

Shining Armor noticed the extra member of the group, the golden alicorn standing awkwardly to the side. Shining Armor offered him a hoof, "Nice to meet you. I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Who might you be?"

Mathew accepted it, "Mathew, how's it going?" Matthew raised an eyebrow as Shining Armor wrapped his leg around Mathew's, the equine equivalent to a handshake. What surprised Mathew most was the amount of force Shining Armor was applying, trying to test his strength. _Oh, now I have to screw with you._ Matthew started to apply more pressure, the white unicorn's face going from surprise to a grimace. Matthew commented, offhandedly, "Nice to meet ya, Shining Armor. How much would you say you bench-press?" Shining armor didn't answer his face started to turn red. Matthew continued add more pressure, not enough to crush his bones, but enough to show him who's the man. "I'd say around 400 pounds." With a smirk Mathew commented, "I prefer to warm up with 400, and then move up to 800. That'll give you a great workout." All of the ponies rolled their eyes at the pair, muttering under their breaths something that sounded like 'colts.'

Cadence finally decided to break up the pair, pushing their interlocking hooves apart, "Alright boys! Break it up." Turning to Shining Armor, Cadence asked, "Do you have to do that to every stallion we meet?"

Shining Armor grinned sheepishly, rubbing his throbbing hoof, "Sorry dear." Shining Armor glanced at Mathew, wondering if he was actually joking about his weight training or not.

Cadence turn to Matthew offering her hoof and saying very kindly, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadence."

Matthew took the hoof in his own, applying a gentle kiss to it. Earning a very stern gaze from Shining Armor, Mathew replied "The pleasure is mine."

_Like a boss._ Matthew thought as he leaned toward Shining Armor giving a sly smile. Shining Armor returned Mathew's smile with a hard glare._It's the little things in life you have to enjoy._

Cadence giggled slightly before addressing the group, "It's good to see you all hear. Before we meet with Princess Celestia, there's one issue that we do have to address." All the girls gave her a quizzical look along with Matthew and Spike. Cadence continued, turning toward Mathew, "Before you meet the Princess," Cadence poked him with her hoof, "You need a bath."

Matthew snorted with disdain, saying "I don't smell that bad." Deciding to make sure he didn't, Matthew lifted up one of his legs and gave an experimental sniff where an armpit would be._ Maybe I do need a shower._

Cadence said, "Yes you do. I could smell you from Ponyville."

Mathew muttered under his breath, "I could smell you from Ponyville!"

"What was that?"

"Where's the shower?"

_Why she giggling?_ Matthew thought as Cadence giggled slightly, before commenting, "You won't be taking a shower. The palace staff will by assisting you in taking a nice long bath." _God no! Not a bath! It's the least manliest way to clean the body._ Out of nowhere two unicorns appeared next to Mathew. One had a light lavender coat with her light pink mane pulled up into a roll along her neck. The second unicorn had a light blue coat, her white mane pulled up in a similar fashion.

The mint color coat unicorn addressed Matthew, "Hello, sir. My name is Minty Fresh and this is my sister, Lavender Water. We will be serving you today, please follow us." Matthew turned towards Twilight, giving her a pleading look. _Don't make me do this!_ The two took Mathew by his forelegs into their own and forcibly dragged the stallion off to wherever the bathtub was.

Twilight raised an eyebrow to cadence, asking "Was that really necessary?"

Cadence offered her sister in law a sly wink, "No, but it'll be hilarious."

0 0 0

_I must've done something wrong to deserve this kind of punishment._

Matthew thought to himself as these two torturous villains made him sit in a large square bathtub surrounded with white marble tile, the depiction of a sun at the bottom of the tub in bright yellow tiles. The pair had chosen to use a three foot wide brush with black bristles attacked to a four foot long wooden pole. _That looks an awful lot like a broom._ Matthew thought with disdain. The pair continued to scrub viciously at his coat and mane. _I don't know how I will do it, but I will get you back for this Cadence!_ Matthew grimaced as the brushes moved across his fur, the unicorns taking a moment to dip their brushes into the soapy water before continuing their work. Matthew muttered to himself as the rough brushes continued their exploration of his body: lifting his wings up and brushing underneath them, going over his chest, continuing with his sides, and rump.

Lavender giggled, "Alright sir, now time to scrub under that tail."

_Check please!_

Matthew jumped out of the water, sending droplets of water and soap flying in all directions. Mathew rushed to the closest door, making his escape. The pair of unicorns were prepared for this. A light blue and purple aura encased Mathew, holding him in thin air. Matthew struggled against his bonds, _These two are stronger then they look._ Even though he could have broken it with some of his power, but the fact that he was in a royal castle and would most likely destroy something or harm someone held him back. _That probably won't go well with whoever runs this show._ The unicorns placed Mathew back in the tub, grabbing a smaller set of brushes to continue his bath. _Sweet baby Jesus! Help Me!_

000

Twilight and company made their way into the throne room, finding Celestia sitting patiently on her high backed throne of gold inscribed with the symbol the sun above her crowned head. Celestia smiled as the approached her, bowing as they came within ten feet of her. Celestia said, "It's good to see you my little ponies. How was your trip?"

Twilight brushed over saying, "It wasn't bad. Thank you for asking."

Celestia stood up from her throne, moving towards the group addressing them, "I have brought you here to ask a very important question. What do you think of this new stallion?"

Celestia turned to twilight first, her faithful student answering, "He doesn't seem bad. He's a little weird, maybe even crazy, but not entirely bad."

Celestia turned to Fluttershy, smiling softly as the shy pony squeaked, "He doesn't seem bad, a little loud at times."

Celestia turned to Rarity, who answered by flipping her mane to the side and raising her nose in the air like a snob, "He's quite a barbarian with no care for proper etiquette."

Rainbow Dash shrugged as Celesta turned her gaze toward at her, "I don't know."

Celestia smiled as Pinky Pie jumped up and down waving her hoof in the air, "Pick me! Pick me!"

Celestia chuckled at her antics, "Yes Pinky Pie, what you think?"

Taking a deep breath Pinkie Pie answered, her voice echoing the grand hall, "I like him! He's my bestest friend!"

Celestia chuckled knowing full well that every pony she had ever met was Pinky Pie's friend. Celestia turned to Shining Armor, "What is your opinion Captain?"

Shining Armor shrugged, commenting, "He's strong. I'll give him that, but nothing that I can't handle Princess."

Cadence giggled slightly, saying to Shining, "He nearly took off your hoof dear." Shining grimaced as every pony present laughed at his despair.

**"I need an adult! I need an adult!"** Mathew's panicked screams echoed down the long palace hall.

Celestia turned to the giggling Cadence, her visible eye brow raised, "Where is the stallion anyway?"

Cadence blushed slightly saying, "I thought he smelled bad, so I sent him to take a bath."

Celesta chuckled before returning to the rest of ponies, sharing in some small talk while Mathew swore to heaven on high things that could never be unheard of again. _Wow! That was quite good._ Celestia thought for a moment, not many ponies knowing that she loved to pull all kinds of pranks on any unsuspecting pony and waiting to see their reactions. Especially when it comes to creative swears.

0 0 0

After he was properly washed and dried, and with enough nightmare fuel to last him a couple of weeks, Matthew was sat in front of a large near with bright lights circling its shiny surface. _Please don't put any makeup on me. I'm too handsome for that fake crap._ And by sat, Mathew was restrained with a disturbing amount of force. Matthew was held captive in what appeared to be an old dentist chair with a leather strap around each to Mathew's legs and around his torso. _I'm getting a weird vibe here._ Mathew's two tormentors dragging over a cart full of sharp and dangerous looking scissors, clippers and other hair products.

Minty took out a black wire combed brush and began moving it through his hair, saying sweetly, "We'll just style your mane, and you'll be ready to meet Princess Celestia."

_It's not like I have a choice._ Matthew thought grimly to himself as Lavender water took out a thick fur brush and began running along his golden fur. Minty practically ripped his hair out of his head as she brought the brush through his hair with enough force to pull out several strands of red hair. Apparently there were a lot of tangles. Minty and Lavender hummed sweetly to themselves. _You may act sweet, but I know the truth! You're evil she devils sent from the deepest parts of hell to torment me._ After his coat, mane and tail were brushed, the pair traded their brushes for a set of shiny silver combs.

Lavender Water and Minty Fresh proceeded to comb through the crimson mane, pulling out any remaining tangles that may have existed. When they were satisfied, the pair moved to look at Mathew from the front with their brows furrowed in deep concentration considering what to do with that spiked hair.

_Why am I terrified!_ Matthew thought to himself feeling cold chills run up his spine as the pair continued to stare at him with unblinking eyes._It's been ten minutes. Make up your minds already!_ Lavender muttered, "I think we should comb it backwards. What do you think?"

Her partner remarked, "That could work. We'll need some gel." The two got back to work, Minty Fresh levitating a small blue squirt bottle over Mathew's hair as Lavender moved next to him. After applying a squirt of hair gel, the pair pulled Mathew's mane backwards towards his scalp and neck before smoothing the hair with a comb. Lavender and Minty took a step back to admire their work with a smile.

To their horror, and Mathew's snicker, the hair flicked back up to return to its original spiky state. Confused, the pair grabbed more hair gel and applied the entire bottle before pulling it back making it look proper once again. But Matthew's hair would not give up as easily. Matthew's red hair sent flecks of blue gel in all directions, flecks of blue covering the mares and the mirror. _Your gel is no match for the power of my awesome hair!_

Matthew chuckled at the frustrated looks on both of the unicorn's faces. "Time for the big guns!" Minty fresh exclaimed, levitating a large silver role of duck tap from her cart. _I have no idea why a hair stylist would have duck tape, but now I'm terrified!_ Lavender pulled back Mathew's hair once again as Minty applied copious amounts of silver duct tape to the back of his head and sides of his neck. The pair took a step back from Mathew, daring his hair to move an inch.

The red hair remained in place for several moments, the unicorns releasing a sigh of relief. The pair sucked in their breath as the red mane quivered, not going down without a fight. Then in an instant, Mathew's hair shot back up, pieces of duck tape stuck to the long strands or Mathew's fur. Minty Fresh and Lavender Water groaned in unison.

_My hair is invincible! Kneel before the awesome might of my hairdo!_ Matthew thought triumphantly as a pair stared in surprised at Matthew's defiant hair. Minty commented, "Let's just give his hair a trim and grind his hooves. What do you say?"

Lavender just nodded, still trying to figure out how Matthew's hair was so strong.

Matthew remain perfectly still as the pair took to his mane with scissors and a pair of electric clippers. Minty and Lavender trimmed the wild mane to merely an inch above his long ears, making the spikes shorter and giving him a more tamed look. _Finally, it's over,_ Mathew thought to himself as Minty and Lavender returned their tools to the cart. Gasping in horror, Mathew watched the reflection of the two unicorns pull out what could only be described as two high powered, hand held sanders. The machines revved to life with an electric whir, before the unicorns brought them down on his hooves. Sparks flew as the machines began to grind and polish his hooves. Matthew thought to himself, _I swear I will have my vengeance upon you Princess Cadence! You think you are safe! But I will find you! And I will play some of the worst pranks you will ever experience! I will make you run home crying to Mommy! Vengeance will be MINE!_

000

The chatter in the throne room stopped as the two white double doors opened, a pair of guards escorting a very clean, very shiny, and very irritated Matthew through the door. Matthew noted the tall paned glass windows depicting some ponies doing stuff, _I don't care to even bother to figure out what's in them._ The room was covered with various colors of pink, purple, blue, yellow to contrast against the white marble and gold accents between the tall columns and tiles. At the end of the hall, the group of ponies he had met earlier and two incredible energy sources stood in front of two high backed thrones. The throne to the left depicted a large golden sun and the other depicting a blue crescent moon. It was the energy sources that intrigued Mathew the most. One energy source came from the tall white alicorn, wearing a golden crown with a flowing multi-colored mane flowing in the breeze. Mathew assumed she was female sense this was most likely the princess he had to talk to. Power radiated from her with an intense heat, almost like a miniature sun, warm and welcoming. _Man, she's tall._

The second signature confused Mathew. It appeared to be coming from the center of the room, but nothing was there. _Why would they be hiding?_ Mathew though as he moved towards the group. This energy felt, for lack of a better word chaotic. It wasn't evil and dark, but it was swirly and shifting, moving from one color and shape to the next. This energy never stayed in one form, always changing. _Almost playfully…_

Twilight cleared her throat breaking Matthew of is observations of the room and its inhabitants. Matthew hurriedly moved towards the group, Shining Armor asked, "How was your bath, Mr. Mathew?"

"The word traumatizing comes to mind you snark bastard."

_Isn't he a charmer,_ thought Celestia behind her amused smile.

Twilight motioned with her hoof towards Celestia, "This is Princess Celestia, raiser of the Sun and Co-Ruler of Equestria."

_A co-monarchy? I wonder how that works?_ Matthew thought to himself as he turned towards the Princess, meeting her gaze. Clesestia and Mathew stared at each other, each one sizing up the other. Mathew saw warmth and kindness behind Celestia's eye and smile. Celestia found in Mathew's eyes weariness behind the glimmer of intrigue in those red eyes, the weariness of somepony who's been through too much conflict and too many battles.

Every eye stared intently at the two ponies, the room as silent as a tomb. Every ponies jaws dropped as Matthew did the unthinkable. Matthew raised the a hoof waved at Princess Celestia, offering her a smile, "How's it going, Princess?"

Celestia chuckled as Twilight eyes began to twitch in irritation, unable to process what had just happened. _This stallion, this stallion that had just saved Ponyville, had the balls to not bow to the most powerful pony in Equestria!_

Shining Armor was not going to have any of this. The enraged unicorn poking Mathew in the barrel, almost shouting, "You have a lot of nerve! Not bow to the Princess of the Equestria! The ruler and raiser of the sun!"

It was a poor choice of words on Shining Armor's part. Within a millisecond, Shining Armor found himself looking not at Mathew but the tall rafters of the throne room. Shining Armor looked up to see Celestia and Cadence looking at him with a shocked expression. Celestia's eyes wide with surprise as Shining Armor had just appeared to have been flipped over backwards and slammed into the ground faster than even she could blink. Celestia looked at Mathew again, _I didn't even see him move!_

Matthew's face entered Shining Armor's vision, hovering over him while saying without any hesitation, "I bow to no one. Got it!" Matthew gave Shining Armor a light tap on the side, sending the stallion sliding across the floor into the wall with a hard thunk.

The guards were already rushing towards Matthew. The unicorns' horns ablaze with magic as the rest of the guards had their weapons partially drawn from scabbards. They did not know who the stallion was, but he may be a threat to the Princess. Celestia calmly addressed them, "Stand down."

The guards begrudgingly extinguished their magic or returned their weapons back into their scabbards before returning to their original posts. Celestia turned to Matthew asking, "Why did you do that to him?"

Matthew responded with a shrug, "Don't take it personally Princess. I bow to for no one and for nothing."

Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy had to hold back Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity from charging Mathew. Cadence rushed to Shining Armor, helping her husband to his hooves before returning to Celestia's side. Every pony in the room looked at Mathew, wanting nothing more than to beat the crap out of him.

It was Celestia's reaction that surprised the ponies most. A chuckle escaped Celestia muzzle, her eyes twinkling with delight at Mathew's behavior. Celestia had lived for a very long time, longer than any pony could fathom. In all those years, she has had to deal with the constant annoyance of etiquette and the attitude ponies had adopted when dealing with royalty. "It's been quite some time since a pony has not acted courteous when meeting me. You're either brave or perhaps very foolish."

Matthew smirked, "Well you know what they say: only fools rush in. Or was it a fool will act the part? I don't know, I stopped caring a long time ago."

Celestia addressed the visitor kindly, "I have some questions for you. Would you please answer all of my questions as truthfully as possible? But first can I have you name"

Matthew nodded before saying, "Sure thing, name's Mathew. But there's something I want to address." Matthew moved over to an empty section of the room to Celestia's right, looking intently at what appeared to be empty air. Matthew said to the open air, his voice low and threatening, "I have no idea what you are, but you better reveal yourself now or I will force you to." Every pony looked at Matthew as if he were suddenly crazy and had grown had just grown a second head. Without warning Matthew's right hoof struck, the shadow covered leg colliding with something very solid.

Celesta, Twilight, Shining Armor and the rest group gasped as a dragon like figure crashed into the side of the room cracking one of the tall glass windows. The dragonesque turned to Mathew, his yellow eyes full of excitement as he exclaimed, "Wow! You are good!"

_What the hell is that?_

The dragon like create had a horse like head, a deer's antler and blue goat horn, a long fang sticking out of his mouth and different sized pupils for his yellow eyes. The dragon had the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. In addition, attached to his back was a bat's right wing, a Pegasus' left wing, a horse's mane and a dragon-like snake's tail with a white tail tuft.

_It's like some acid induced mythical puzzle._

Matthew prepared to deliver second blow, "Tell me who you are. You won't get another warning."

Discord jumped to his get dusting himself off before announcing with a flamboyant wave of his arms, "I am Discord, God of chaos." With a mocking bow, discord continued, "At your service."

_Fitting name._

Matthew did not like the feeling he was getting from Discord, his energy felt too alien to be anything mortal. Celestia asked discord, with some annoyance entering her voice, "Discord, why were you hiding?"

Discord gave Celesta a knowing smile, his single snaggletooth to glinting in the light, "Oh my dear Celestia! I was simply greeting our visitor from another world."

Everypony except Twilight, Fluttershy and Mathew gasped at Discord's exclamation. Celestia hurriedly hid her surprise. "Why do you say he's from another world?"

Discord answered because, "I smell it on him."

"Oh come on! I just took a bath!" Matthew shouted not wanting to go through the horror of taking a second bath.

Discord turned to the stallion, "Oh I don't mean that kind of smell. What I meant is that you still have a slight residue of the Void on you."

" The Void? Twilight asked unsure of what that meant.

Discord appeared to twilight's left, "Yes I'm sure you haven't heard of it before Twilight. But the Void is the separation between worlds, or dimensions if you will. Each world has to exist in its own realm its own laws and timeline or else anarchy and chaos will be created. Laws of one galaxy will clash with the next, raining down destruction upon all of the multi-verse! It would be the end of all life as we know it!" Discord threw his arms in the air cackling madly.

_This guy's a few French fries short of a happy meal._

Celesta asked, "Matthew, is it true? Are you from another world?"

Matthew nodded. Celestia continued to ask, "Then why are you here? What brought you to equestrian?"

Matthew responded, "Well I wasn't planning on visiting Equestria. Kind of fell here after I was banished from my world."

Each pony looked ready to attack Matthew, thinking him a convict or worse a spy sent to destroy their nation. Matthew continued, unperturbed by the group slowly getting closer ready to strike at a moments notice, "I was a soldier in my world. I was made to fight an evil that threatened my entire race. When the last battle happened, we were able to stop threat and saved millions of lives. But humanity was fearful of my kind. My kind has special abilities that they a normal person does not. We were burdened with these powers and forced to fight for them. Without an enemy, they had no further for use of us. Humanity was afraid that we would use our curses, our gifts against them. I was banished because I surrendered to my people, I do not want to fight them."

Celesta held up a hoof, stopping every pony from pouncing on Matthew. Matthew was aware of them. He felt them getting closer and closer, but they do not have the strength to beat him. _I could take on all of you without breaking a sweat._

Celesta asked calmly, "What species are you?"

Scratching the back of his head, Mathew answered, "Well, I started out human, but then I gained by abilities so they decided to name us something else."

"Humans are a myth here," Celesta pointed out. "Tales of human speak about the ingenuity, conquering the seas and heavens. If you are different, then what did they call you?"

"Hybrid was one of the nicer terms."

Twilight asked, interrupting her teacher, "What's a human? What do they look like? Do they have magic?" Celestia silenced her pupil with a hoof.

Matthew answered, "Let's see… Humans are bipedal, they walk on two feet and we have hands." At the confused looks he was getting, Mathew tried to explain, "Hands are um… Have you ever seen a monkey's paws? You know with five flexible fingers?" When the group nodded, Mathew continued, "Humans are like monkeys, except they don't have hands on our feet, they don't have fur. They've got some hair on the top of our heads and in some other areas, but that's it. No, humans do not have magic. Humans build stuff to help out with certain tasks we cannot perform ourselves."

Every pony except for just Discord and Celesta looked at Matthew confusion. Twilight could not understand what the world be like without her magic. _That's just insane!_ Celesta stared into Matthew's red eyes unable to sense any falsehoods, "Then I will ask the most important question: what do you plan to do while you are here?"

Matthew simply shrugged, "I don't know. I've no reason to harm or do anything to you or the people of this world, if that's what you are worried about."

Celestia continued to probe Matthew for answers, "When you said you received your abilities, what did you mean?"

"That is a difficult question to ask. When my world was under attack, darkness spilled from the Earth and released all kinds of horrors onto humanity. These creatures killed any source of light they could. And what is filled with the greatest amount of light?" Mathew asked. The ponies continued to stare at him as he continued, "An innocent soul. These demons enjoyed poisoning the souls of children forcing them to either die horrible painful deaths, or to turn into something like themselves. Or for the few that didn't turn dark, turn into something like me."

Celesta turned to Discord, the Spirit of Chaos jumping up and down in excitement waving his hand in the air like a preschool child. "Did you want to share something with us, Discord?" Celesta knowing from the way he smiled he knew something.

Discord said, enjoying knowing something Celestia didn't, "Thank you Princess. I would like to share my knowledge on what exactly Mathew is." Matthew turned to Discord and eyebrow raised, along with the rest of the ponies present. Discord began to pace in front of the group, "You see I've lived a very long life. Thousands upon thousands of years I have walked these lands. In the early days of your ancestors there was a time when there were no Pegasus. There were no unicorns. There were no Cutie Marks. There were just Earth ponies. Magic was unheard of. Ponies back then believed in a different power, they believed in nature itself and built using the tools nature provided them. They had to develop not only building without magic, but agriculture as well because nature didn't act the same way it does today. Back then the Gates of Tartarus did not exist and there was nothing to stop the demons from running rampant. "

Discord continued his narration, "One of their greatest weapons was not the ferocity, but their poison." _This sounds so familiar._ Discord turned to Mathew, "No one likes a smartass." _Did you just read my mind?_ "No," Discord chuckled, "I can tell when someone's making an ass of themselves." _That must be going off 24/7 with you._ "Cheeky bastard, but let me tell you something kid. I'm over one hundred thousand years old and I can beat you with one paw tied behind my back." _Bring it on Grandpa! Don't break a hip walking your ass all the way over here._ "That's a lot of big talk coming from a bipedal monkey," Discord retorted. _Pretty big talk coming from a bipedal bitch!_ "Oh, real mature. I'll let you know I am a god!" _So? You want a cookie or something?_ "I will make the sky rain fire, destruction and chaos down upon your head!" _Then I'll enjoy the shade while kicking your sorry ass up and down these streets._ "Oh you are going to get it…"

"JUST GET ON WITH THE STORY!" everypony screamed, shocking Mathew and Discord out of their childish bickering.

"Jerk," Discord muttered under his breath, before he continued. "Now, a child who is able to conquer the poison would receive a special mark, burned into his flesh when they unlocked a great truth of the soul."

"A great truth of the soul?" asked Applejack. _I really should have taken more philosophy classes in school._

Discord answered, "It's like when you receive your Cutie Mark, it's not a special talent you unlock but the aspect of your being or to put in a better phrase 'Who you really are deep down?'" Discord appeared to Mathew's left motioning towards the black ink, "A pony receives these marks when they have unlocked the hidden meaning of their power. The message is burned into their skin, bringing with them both power and a greater burden then you can believe."

"What kind of burden?" asked Rainbow Dash, not liking the sound of it.

"The burden of wielding True Power."

"What do you mean True Power?" Celestia asked, a shiver riding up her spine.

"You see Princess," Discord answered, appearing next to her and wrapping a arm around her. "Magic is the product of high concentration and harnessing the power around a unicorn, correct?" Not waiting for an answer, Discord continued, "True power is the power of the soul, the power of one's own being, able to achieve the greatest of feats. And with all power, it comes with a price. The price is learning the soul's true essence."

All of the ponies gapped at Discord, unable to speak as Discord returned to his pacing. "Now these ponies were able to fight along the rest of their kind, pushing the demons back into Tartarus themselves…"

"But without anything to stop them the demons would just keep coming back, right?" asked Pinkie Pie, no sign of excitement in her voice.

"You are quite right," Discord pointed out. "In order to ensure the demons could no longer attack the land, each of these ponies sacrificed themselves." Gasp! "In doing so they released all of their energy into the world, created the gates of Tartarus and something more."

"What did they create?" asked Celestia.

"Their energies unlocked the hidden potential in all ponies," Discord answered smiling. "It was through them that the first unicorns and Pegasus began to appear, many years later. You see, a unicorn, Pegasus and Earth pony have a deep magical connection to the world. These individual tribes evolved from those who survived the Battle of Tartarus, each one developing a unique ability depending on the area they inhabited."

"But how did magic come from that?" Twilight asked. "If magic is all around us, how is it that it took these ponies to unlock it?"

"You are right, Twilight. Magic has always existed," Discord added. "The energy the hybrids ponies released into the world only unlocked the potential to sense it. It took your ancestors hundreds of years to understand how to access it." Discord held up his arms, "It is from these unlocked potential that the Cutie Mark appeared, how the Earth ponies are able to work with the land better than any other pony, or even how Pegasus are able to grab the clouds and tame the weather."

Discord appeared in front of Mathew with his eyes centimeters from Mathew's. Startled, Mathew jumped back in surprise. "Mathew here is one of these ponies. But you are quite special, Mathew."

_Please let it not be special education special._

Celestia raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean Discord?"

Discord wrapped an arm around Mathew, "What I mean Celestia, is that Mathew's soul is in perfect balance."

"What?" asked the group.

Discord moved forward, pushing his yellow eyes almost into Mathew's red eyes, "Tell me Mathew, how does a child survive the poison?"

Mathew answered, "By absorbing the darkness."

"Correct!" Discord yelled. With a snap a finger, everypony and Spike found themselves sitting in elementary school desks with Discord standing in front of them with a chalkboard wearing a white lab coat. Mathew sat between Celestia and Twilight, _How did he just do that?_Discord began to educate the ponies, drawing two circles and filling in one, "It is the inherent rule of the universe that light and darkness cannot exist within the same space. Imagine a battery, by itself there is has no charge. But when you connect the positive and negative sides, a current is created producing energy. When light and darkness are brought together, they explode meaning that both cannot exist in the same place. In order for a pure soul to survive the darkness, the light has to absorb it and take upon some of its attributes as a result."

Mathew interrupted, "However, in the struggle between the sides a child's body can burnout."

"What do you mean 'burnout'?" Fluttershy asked.

"They die."

All of the ponies gasped in horror, before Discord drew their attention by tapping the board with a sharp claw, his smile disappearing, "Unfortunately during the struggle a pony's body may be unable to handle the stress. A pony can use all of their energy to beat the darkness and are unable to survive the conversion." Discord drew a third circle, filling in only half, "Mathew here survived the process and breaks all the rules."

The confused looks on the ponies' faces were all Discord got, Mathew confused as to how he knew all of this. Rainbow Dash blurted out, "I don't get it!"

Applejack agreed, "Me too."

Discord sighed, "Now my little ponies, everpony contains an amount of positive and negative qualities in their soul. These are merely attributes of a personality. A pony can be greedy or a jerk, but still be a good pony on the inside. What makes a pony's soul is whether it is made of light or darkness, not both." Discord appeared next to Mathew, startling him, and wrapped one arm around him, "Mathew here defies nature… NO, defies the laws of the universe itself!" Discord pulled out a white coned hat with the word 'Special' written on it before placing it on top of the stallion's head with a cackle, "In all my years, I have never seen a pony, griffon, dragon or any creature alive achieve what you have good sir."

With a snap of his fingers, Discord returned the room to its original order. The ponies looked toward him or at Mathew each wearing a confused face. Celestia asked as annoyance and worry slipped into her voice "Achieved what, Discord?"

"Equilibrium."


	6. Chapter 6

A Demon in Ponyville

Ch. 6: Dinner with Royalty

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. All other characters are my own.

Silence filled the throne room, no one knowing what to say. Eyes went from Discord, to Celestia, to Mathew and back. Twilight asked, finally breaking the silence, "What do you mean by 'equilibrium'?"

Discord ruffled the young alicorn's mane playfully, "What I mean is the perfect balance of light and darkness, my little princess."

"Why does that make him so special?" asked Rainbow Dash, "Just because he has both doesn't sound so special to me."

Discord thought about it for a moment, mumbling, "How best is it to explain this." Then a light bulb appeared over his head. _Literally!_ "Oh, I've got it!" With a twirl of his paws, Discord raised two tuning forks. With a flick of his wrists, Discord taps the pair together. The room became filled with the rising and falling of the tuning forks. The sound of the lower tuning fork syncing with the higher frequency sound, increasing the rise and fall of the sound, Discord said, "Notice the increase in frequency when a higher tuned and lower tune are rang together. The opposing frequencies increase the highs and lows."

"But what does that have to do with him?" Rainbow Dash asked, motioning towards Mathew's blank expression.

_Should I be insulted? Hmmm. Tough choice._

Discord tossed the two musical instruments over his shoulder, the silver instruments vanishing in a flash of light. "This means that both complement each other, making his strength and abilities unparalleled in this world."

_I can beat him._ Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

Celestia tried to ingest this information. Looking over to Twilight, Celestia chuckled at the young alicorn's expression of wonder. Twilight's purples eyes were filled with unbridled excitement, wanting to know more about Mathew. Celestia noticed the sun sinking into the horizon, _Wow, it's gotten late._ Addressing the group, Celestia said, "Mathew, I would like to thank you for answering all of my questions."

"Sure, no problem."

Celestia continued, "But I think it's time for dinner." _Free Food! YES!_ "And Luna will be up soon. We'll be able to have a nice meal with her."

"Who's Luna?" Mathew asked Celestia.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Celestia giggled._ Again with the giggling! I swear every time I hear it I get screwed._ "Luna is my sister and co-monarch of Equestria," Celestia smiled at Mathew.

_That makes sense, two sisters as the rulers._

Returning the smile, Mathew commented, "Sounds like fun."

Celestia motioned towards the guards, "Could you show our guest to the dining hall?" The guards nodded in compliance, Celestia told Twilight, "I'll join you in a moment Twilight. I just need to ask Discord a few things." Twilight raised a confused eyebrow, but followed Celestia's instructions and followed the group as they left the large throne room.

When the doors were closed shut, Celestia turned to Discord. The trickster raised an amused eyebrow, "What is it Princess?"

Celestia took a deep breath, "I need to know, Discord. How powerful is Mathew?"

Discord chuckled, "If you're wondering if he is a threat, then you do not have to worry." Celestia didn't look too comforted, "You can see he is a good pony just by the look in his eyes."

Celestia asked, "Are you sure?" Discord offered the Celestia a reassuring nod. "Well, I guess we had best be going to dinner," Celestia said, awkward about having to ask Discord such a question.

Discord stopped the Princess before she could move, looking serious. "Even though you don't have to worry about Mathew," Celestia did not like the way this was going, "You and Luna are no match for him."

0 0 0

Mathew and the group were directed into a large and exquisite dining hall at least sixty feet wide and two hundred feet long, _Enough room for a party_. The simple purple walls and gold chandelier of pure diamond complemented the long table at least forty feet long and five feet wide draped with a deep purple table cloth and filled with the most unimaginable feast that could be imagined. Light reflected off the smooth shining surfaces of the room, making it even more impressive. Tables of polished dark wood and purple cushions lined both sides of the table in front of spotless white plates and reflective silver utensils. _What would these thumb-less freaks need with a fork?_

Mathew's mouth drooled as the smell of roasted garlic, tomato soup and so many seasonings met his nose causing his stomach to grumble loudly.

Twilight caught Mathew as he rushed towards the table, her purple magic encasing him as he flew through the air. _God dammit!_ Twilight commented, "Now! Now, Mathew! You have to meet Princess Luna first." _Curse you for preventing me from feasting!_

Mathew sighed, "Sorry. I got a little carried away," as Celestia and Discord walked into the room to find Mathew being held two feet off the floor by Twilight.

The girls chuckled at Mathew's antics as Twilight placed the stallion on his hooves, looking expectantly towards the white double doors behind the able towards the left. Mathew turned his head towards the same double door as the opened by a pair of dark blue ponies wearing black armor with an image of the crescent moon on the front plate, matching helmets and what appeared to be batwings. _Why didn't I get something cool like that?_

Entering from the doorway Princess Luna entered, she was a tall alicorn of deep blue coat, a crescent moon mark on her rear and a flowing blue mane of tiny white lights. Her hair's all psychedelic man. Celestia greeted Luna with a smile, "Good evening Lulu." Mathew had to repress a snort of laughter, as Celestia gave her sister a quick hug before motioning to Twilight and the group. "I thought it would be good to have some company for dinner tonight. Also…" Celestia motioned for Mathew to move closer with a hoof, which he obliged by moving directly in front of Luna where Celestia indicated, "I would also like you to meet a new friend. This is Mathew. He was the one who stopped the hydra at Ponyville. Say hello, Mathew."

"Hi, Princess Luna," Mathew responded, offering the Princess a sheepish smile.

"GREETINGS FELLOW WARRIOR! YOU ARE WELL MET!" Luna's thunderous voice blasted into Mathew's ears raising her hoof into the air for emphasis. _Someone hit the mute button!_ Mathew's internal monologue screamed as he outwardly flinched, Celestia only smiling inwardly thanking the fact that she had previously applied a sound softening spell to her own ears beforehand. "YE HAVE VANQUISHED A MIGHTY FOE FROM WHAT MY SISTER HATH TOLD US! WE THANK THEE FOR YOUR VALIENT SERVICE TO PONYVILLE! TONIGHT WE SHALL FEAST IN YOUR HONOR!" _Make it stop! Make it stop!_ "NOW LET US BREAK BREAD AND SHARE TALES OF HEROICS! HAZZAH!"

Everypony laughed at Mathew's cringing after Luna's speech. Silence followed after, or in Mathew's case a high pitched ringing continued to go off in his ears. Luna noticed Mathew's pained expression, taking a moment to calm her voice down, "I'm sorry. We sometimes forget to use a softer voice at times. How are you?" _I can see her lips moving, but all I hear is eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee._

"What?" yelled Mathew, surprising Luna and getting quite the chuckle from Celestia and Discord. "Your name's Lulu! It's nice to meet you! I am the only one hearing that annoying ringing sound?" Mathew turned to the ponies behind him, noticing their wide grins.

Luna turned to Celestia, raising a confused eyebrow, "Tia, is this a new kind of speech that we have yet to master in this modern world."

Celestia smiled, trying to contain her mirth, "No Lulu, Mathew here is a very unusual pony. It would be best not to take his attitude personally."

The pair turned back to Mathew, as he said, "It's an eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee kind of sound." Still they shook their head, chuckling as Mathew held his hooves against his ears. Discord enjoyed the fun as Mathew asked loudly, "How come none of you are hearing this?"

After several minutes, Mathew's hearing was finally restored and everyone was able to finally take a seat at the lavished table. Mathew sat with Celestia to his left and Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy to his right. Across from Celestia sat Luna, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack. Discord sat at the head of the table between the Princesses on what appeared to be thin air. With a snap of his paw, Discord animated the dishware to offer the patrons any assistance. _I've stopped asking questions about the weird stuff that continues to happen._

Small talk didn't follow the start of this meal, not that everypony was eating their food, but that their attention was on Mathew. In a madman's rush, the gold alicorn was trying to consume everything within reach of his front hooves. Everypony except Discord, Celestia and Luna looked on Mathew's table manners with disgust. The Princess of the Sun wore an amused smile, while the Luna commented, "It is good to see a pony with a healthy appetite! All of the nobles these days eat such dainty dishes! They're barely worth a single bite!"

"Here! Here!" Mathew announced through his mouth full of some kind of honey pastry. _I don't know what you are! All I know is that you are delicious!_

"Are you enjoying the Honey Almond Cakes?" Twilight asked, annoyed Mathew's disregard for the Princesses present.

"I am not leaving until all of these Cakes are in my mouth!"

"I know right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, shoving as many sweet treats into her mouth as possible. _How did she just eat an entire cake in one bite?_

Celestia sighed, _I was going to eat that._

Rarity commented, Mathew shoving two cakes into his muzzle, "Such manners in front of royalty. You should be more refined Mathew." _Hmmm… I'm getting the vibe that Rarity's a bit of a bitch._

Mathew swallowed his food, using his foreleg to wipe off his muzzle, "Ummm Rarity? Right?"

"Yes," the white unicorn answered with a flip of her mane. At least he remembers my name

Mathew continued, "You are quite right, I have been acting without manners." Everypony leaned forward over their plates, "And frankly my dear, I just don't give a damn."

Rarity's face turned bright red, _I will DESTROY you!_ All of the ponies chuckled at Rarity's expression.

Celestia smirked, "Yes thank you" as the milk container poured the chilled milk into her teacup. Discord chuckled while taking a bite out of a similar white tea cup like it was a cookie. _Just go with it, Mathew._

Rarity had quiet the retort, "We'll I can see your parents or any pony have not taught you any manners."

_Oh, it is on like Donkey Kong!_

"My parents are dead," Mathew answered in a very empty voice.

Rarity squeaked at Mathew's response. The rest of the table turned their heads downcast towards their plates, not sure how to respond and leaving the room in awkward silence. Spike decided to end it, "Do you mean both parents or one parent?"

"Mom and sisters went first. Dad went a couple of years later."

All of the ponies and Discord wore sad expressions, Luna said, "We are sorry for your lost and offer thee our sympathies."

Mathew shrugged his shoulders, "Don't be, you didn't have anything to do with it. Besides, I don't remember my mother and sisters that much. I was ten when they died."

Fluttershy offered Mathew a comforting whisper, "At least your father was there. He must have done his best being a single parent."

"HA! HA! HA!" Mathew laughed uncontrollably falling backwards in his chair. The ponies watched in confusion as Mathew's legs flailed in the air as he gasped for air. "Oh God! I haven't laughed like that in years!" Taking a moment to compose himself, Mathew returned to a sitting position, his cheeks a rosy red color. "Yeah, my dad was a bit of a bastard after that and I sure did hate his guts until he finally kicked the bucket."

"What!" yelled all of the ponies.

Shining Armor hollered, "How could you say that! That's your father!"

Mathew threw him a dark look, and Shining Armor flinched remembering how fast he had gotten his rump kicked and made the wise choice to shut up. "Let me tell you something," Mathew spat out, "I stayed with that son-of-a-bitch until his dying breath. My father was not a good person. He left me, a ten-year-old-child-mind-you, in the hands of a sadist military group to spend the next twelve years being beaten to an inch of my life and dealing with a commander who had the tendency to physically abuse his men, and all the while, saving the planet. And I never got a thank you for saving it! Not ONCE!" Mathew rose from his seat to lean on the table, his hooves pressing against the cold marble, "I'm not going to say I didn't love my old man. I loved him with the bottom of my heart." _Very, very deep down._ "I just didn't like him that much."

"Wow," groaned Twilight, not sure how to deal with this kind of conversation.

Celestia thought to herself, _And I thought my had family problems._

Pinkie Pies ears flattened, "That's so sad."

Discord coughed a few times, drawing everypony's attention, "I think it's best if we move the conversation to something else."

_Good idea._

Silence filled the room, each pony munching softly on their salads, fruits or pastries. _I seriously need to work on my people skills. Or is it pony skills now?_

Mathew just looked into his plate, seeing only the red manned pony contemplating on how to remedy the broken conversation. Mathew turned to Celestia, seeing her levitate a tea cup to quietly sip out of. "Hey Princess Celestia, how do you move stuff with your horn?"

Celestia answered, placing her cup neatly on the table, "Well Mathew, levitation is a simple spell. All it requires if for you to concentrate on an object and allow the energy to build up into your horn."

"So all I have to do is concentrate hard enough and objects will start to with my mind?" Mathew raised an eyebrow. _Because the mystical powers of the universe are so easy even a child can use them!_ Mathew focused on the silver goblet in front of him. Mathew's brow furrowed, _Nope, still nothing._ Then a pressure began to form in his horn. _Well that's new._ Continuing his concentration, a red aura began to engulf the cup covering it's shining surface. _And now up!_ Mathew lifted the cup up with only his mind, bringing it towards his muzzle. Taking a grateful swig of water, Mathew thought to himself _Refreshing_. Mathew returned the cup to its original place. _OK, I'll admit it. Magic is freaking awesome._

Celestia smiled at Mathew's wide grin, "Very good Mathew."

Luna asked Mathew, "Why dost thou ask about magic? Hath no one trained you in the art?"

"Nope."

Luna said, "Why doth thy talk more about your history? We are quiet intrigued."

Mathew groaned, _Why do I have to keep talking about myself? I'll get bored with repeating the same information again and again. Hell, I'll probably get sick of hearing my own story._ "Sorry Luna, but I've had to talk all about me all day. So why don't you tell me about yourself. I'm sure raising the Moon is a fun job."

Luna raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Doth thou not know about myself or my sister?"

"Well," Mathew started with a long emphasized drawl, "no. But I'm not from these lands, so sorry about my ignorance."

"Then what land are thou from?"

"America," Mathew answered. _Land where rednecks roam, beer is great and where what happens in Vegas stays on Youtube._

"America?" All of the ponies muttered, tasting the foreign word on their tongues.

"What's America like?" Cadence asked, intrigued by this new word.

Mathew shrugged, "When I was a kid it was ok." _Wow, I feel old saying that._ "It's got some problems; like the overpopulation, big business trying to squash the little man down, Ke$ha. Oh god, Ke$ha! But the average citizen is ok. They're just people trying to go about their daily lives."

Celestia smiled, "It sounds like a nice place."

Discord commented, "Sounds boring to me."

Mathew smiled, "Oh trust me dude. There is plenty of trouble to get into. You've got booze, kart racing, basketball, Youtube and other sorts of fun stuff."

"What's Youtube?" Twilight asked, It sounds ridiculous.

Mathew explained, "Youtube's a website where people around the world can post videos of them doing stuff: some educational, some awesome, and some really stupid stuff."

Discord asked, "What kind of stupid stuff?"

"Imagine some of the dumbest stuff you can think of, and it'll be on Youtube."

"Like… A pony getting drunk and having a total meltdown," Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes."

"How about a pony making love to an inanimate object?" Discord asked.

_EW!_ "Ok, almost anything weird you can think of," Mathew responded. "Like epic fails, police brutality, funny videos and stuff. Can we move on, this topic's getting awkward?"

It sure is. Rainbow Dash asked, "What's a website?"

"Ummmm." Mathew's brow furrowed for a moment, "A website is a customized amount of data posted by someone for a particular reason, whether for business, education or fun that's available on the internet."

"What's the internet?" Pinkie asked cheerfully, "It sounds like fun!"

Especially porn sites. Mathew scratched the back of his head, "The internet is a collection of processors that share information and broadcast it so the world can access it."

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed excitedly, "How does it work? What kind of information? Can it be used for education?"

Mathew held up his hoof, stopping the purple princess, "Do I look like a college graduate with a degree in computer sciences?"

"No, you look like an alicorn silly!" Pinkie Pie smiled cheerfully.

Mathew groaned inwardly, "I was conveying sarcasm, Pinkie."

"What's that taste like?"

"Ugh!" Mathew groaned, rubbing a hoof to his temple.

Celestia chuckled, "It seems your world has many wonders."

"Yep," Mathew answered, "But what about you guys. What's your story?"

Celestia answered, "Luna and I have raised the sun and moon for a few thousand years along with ruling these lands."

"Wait-wait-wait!" Mathew interrupted as his jaw dropped. "A thousand years? How old are you?"

Twilight shot daggers at Mathew, no ponyone ever dared interrupt Celestia. Celestia merely nodded, "I am almost two thousand years old. Luna is just a few years behind me."

"How's that possible?"

Luna answered this one, "Alicorns have a long life span. Our magic allows us to live longer than most ponies. It is also our magic that allows us to raise the sun and the moon along with many other gifts."

"Wow, you're like Crypt Keeper old."

"What was that?" Luna asked, annoyance filling her voice.

Mathew changed topics at lightning speed, "How many alicorns are there? I've only seen you, Luna, Cadence and Twilight."

Celestia nodded, "We are the only alicorns in these lands, at least until you arrived. You are alicorn number 5."

_Talk about being a minority._ Mathew pondered this, Luna looked over to Twilight, "We forgot to ask, Princess Twilight, how was the hydra stopped? Celestia was vague with her description."

"I'd like to know that too," Shining Armor said, giving Mathew a very skeptical look. Not believing for one instant that he beat a fully grown hydra.

Twilight finished her mouthful of tomato basil soup, "The day was starting out as a nice break from duties, then the ground started to shake." _You forgot psycho over there using me as a battering ram._ "I went outside to take a look and I saw this huge hydra stomping on the houses outside of Ponyville. I teleported myself to the marketplace to see what I could do and I found Pinkie Pie with Applejack. Together, Pinkie Pie and Applejack were able to distract it while I powered up my spell…"

"Hey! I was there too," Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Sorry, Dashie," Twilight blushed slightly. "Rainbow Dash also assisted in distracting the hydra. When I fired my spell, a dark energy stopped my spell. The hydra was able to knock Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash out of the way."

"Actually," Pinkie Pie jumped up, "Mathew picked me up and set me on the ground when I was riding the hydra's head. I think I broke my old record of 1 minute and 43 seconds." _How am I not surprised she would ride hydras? Does that sound dirty to anyone?_

Twilight continued, "Before I could do anything else the Cutie Mark Crusaders were about to be crushed. I teleported myself next to them and tried use a barrier to stop the hydra." Twilight looked down in shame, "But my barrier wasn't able to stand it. It shattered in an instant." _I feel kinda bad for her. I mean she looks so sad._Mathew thought as Twilight rubbed a hoof to her eye, pushing the feelings of shame away.

"What happened after that, Twily?" Cadence asked, trying to be as warm as she could by putting a wing over her sister-in-law. _Aw, that's sweet._

"That's where I come in," Mathew inserting himself into the conversation. "I was working on moving all of the ponies away from the hydra when I heard the three fillies scream. When I got to the scene, I saw the hydra about to crush Twilight and the fillies. As fast as I could, I put myself between the hydra's foot and Twilight."

"How did you stop the hydra's foot?" asked Shining Armor.

"I caught it," Mathew answered with a shrug.

"With magic?" asked Cadence.

"Nope, I caught it with these guns," Mathew responded, flexing his forelegs. Shining Armor rolled his eyes along with Cadence and the rest of the girls.

Applejack added, a small chuckle releasing from her muzzle, "I saw the whole thing and Mathew here caught that hydra's foot with one hoof." The three looked to Applejack, noticing that she was looking absolutely seriously along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony nodding in agreement.

_God I love that expression._

Luna, Shining and Cadence had to catch their jaws before they crashed into the table. Luna said, "Continue."

Mathew shrugged his broad shoulders, "I threw the hydra out of town and told it to go home." _Who knew a pony's jaw could open that far?_ Mathew thought as the three couldn't stop their jaws a second time. "When it didn't, I had to beat the living hell out of it. The hydra shot some of its lasers at me. It got a few good hits, but I still won."

"By good, do you mean being shot out of the air and into the center of town through five feet of dirt?" Applejack commented offhandedly.

"Anyway," Mathew continued, throwing her an annoyed look. "When the hydra tried to use some ultimate attack, I overpowered the attack with one of my own. When beaten, the hydra's eyes did something weird."_You should really be careful, your eyes may popped out of your heads_, Mathew thought as Luna's, Shining's and Cadence's eyes bulged in their sockets.

"Weird like funny ha ha or the not good weird?" Spike asked.

"Its eyes turned from green to blue," Mathew answered before turning towards the Princesses. "Does that make any sense to you two?"

Celestia hummed to herself, "I can think of a few causes, but any of them mean trouble." Celestia gave Mathew a worried look.

_I should be worried, but wasn't even at full power and I could still beat that hydra. I can take on anything even in my weakened state. Bring it on Equestria!_

Celestia noticed the sun has disappeared behind the horizon, "Well my little ponies…" _I swear that must be a catch phrase for something._ "I think it's time for us to retire. Have a goodnight everypony." With that the ponies left the table, Celestia walking to her room as a castle staff guided Twilight and friends to their rooms.

Luna left the dining hall to an outside balcony, thinking deeply to herself. _Just who is that stallion?_ While he had been honest with them all throughout diner, Mathew had not told them everything.

0 0 0

Mathew flopped down on the large squishy mattress. _Oh my god! An actual bed! YEAH!_ Mathew's room looked like a single apartment, a full size mattress covered with deep blue blankets to accent the dark wood of the bedpost, nightstands, and dresser drawer. A small door to the left of the entrance lead to a small bathroom complete with toilet, sink and shower. Mathew's head rested against the pillow. _It feels like laying on a cloud._Mathew's eyes drooped lower.

_I guess the Princesses are alright. Celestia seems nice, but I sense she'd be really fun to party with._

_Luna… What' with the whole thee and thou? Whatever. But over a thousand years old! How do they look so young? You could patent their secrets and make some bank._

_Shining's a douche that needs to pull the stick out of his ass, and I can't even think about Cadence without wanting to punch something._

_Twilight's nice, but screams perfectionist._

_Spike's a fun little dude. Kinda reminds me of a younger Mathew. Only more scaly and less depressing._

_Applejack's got an interesting sense of humor going on._

_Fluttershy's just too quite. I've had flatulence louder than her._

_Rainbow Dash is a jock. She might be fun to hang out with._

_And there's Pinkie Pie. I don't think I need to say anything on that subject._

Mathew droned on for several more minutes as he drifted off into a light sleep as many of the castle's inhabitants soon joined him.

0 0 0

A grey Pegasus walked calmly down the empty halls of the palace, his gold armor reflecting the bright moon light. Turning into the closest room, the Pegasus was rewarded by the empty study full decorated with only a worn wooden desk, a tapestry of Equestria's flag and a single grandfather clock tucked away in a corner. The Pegasus moved over to the clock. With a grunt, the Pegasus pulled the clock from the wall revealing a square patch of darkness descending into the mountain.

The Pegasus entered the pitch black passageway, closing the door behind him. Engulfed in darkness, the Pegasus revealed his true form in a flash of bright green light. Encased in a black exoskeleton, with pale blue beetle eyes, a thin horn on his head, and thin see-through wings, the changeling ignited his horn to produce a green aura to lead his way down the steps carved into the grey rock of the mountain.

The changeling slowly made his way down the stairs, the grey stone slowly turning into clear crystal. The changeling passed through the glittering surrounding. The passageway opened into an open space thirty feet wide surrounded by large chunks of minerals. Small green fires surrounded the clearing, illuminating the area with a soft glow. The changeling's attention was solely on the individual sitting in the center of the cavern. She was tall, wearing her long pale blue mane flowing freely off the side of her head, her green eyes glowed in the pale light, her black exoskeleton and thin wings reflected the green light, a broken and warped horn stuck out of the front of her head. "General Thrall, so good of you to join me."

Thrall bowed deeply to his queen, "I am humbled, my Queen. I bring news of the castle."

"Oh! And what is that?" Queen Chrysalis asked.

"A new alicorn has arisen," Thrall said, Chrysalis gasping in surprise. "He calls himself Mathew and from what I overheard from the conversation, he singlehandedly beat a hydra. We must be wary around him, for even the ponies do not know his full potential."

"Hmmm," Chrysalis hummed. "We will have to rethink our strategy. What do you think General?"

"A wise choice my Queen," Thrall answered. "We need to take our time with the invasion. With the elements and the princesses on guard from the hydra attack, we must move slowly or else all our plans will be for not."

"Yes," Chrysalis agreed. "But we will persevere. We will conquer the Princesses, the Elements of Harmony and rule the world! HA! HA! HA!" The high pitched laughter echoed in the small cavern.

"Are you so sure?" a low growling voice echoed in the cavern, causing Chrysalis and Thrall to jump to their hooves, looking in every direction for the source. A dark shadow, with bright green eyes looking on the pair with amusement, appeared from the shadows in front of them. "It is good to see you again, Chrysalis."

"That's Queen Chrysalis to you!" Thrall shot at the shadow.

Chrysalis held a hoof up to silence her General, "It has been a long time, hasn't it Sombra?" Sombra chuckled as Chrysalis threw him a dirty look, "Is there any particular you're here? Or did you want to see a true conqueror succeeding where you failed?"

The shadow quivered as Sombra chuckled darkly, "I wouldn't be so confident. You might regret underestimating this Mathew."

"And why's that?" Chrysalis asked, showing no sign of interest.

"I have witnessed his abilities firsthoof," Sombra stated, "and they are nothing to take lightly. You would be best to take my assistance when taking over Canterlot."

"Don't underestimate me, Sombra," Chrysalis growled. "I will take over Canterlot and defeat this Mathew. Proving to you that my army and I have what it takes to defeat these ponies, without any acceptance from the likes of you."

"Very well!" Sombra cackled, before fading away. "But remember my warning, or you might regret it."

_I hate that pony!_ Chrysalis thought, turning to Thrall, "How are the preparations for the invasion going?"

"So far so good," Thrall reported. "Every night, Princess Celestia slowly succumbs to your mental control. Soon she will do your bidding. As for the army, over half of the castle's staff has been replaced along with small fractions of the population. The rest of the army is lying waiting inside the caverns of the mountain, ready to attack at a moment notice."

"Good, good," Chrysalis smiled. "And what about Princess Cadence and Shining Armor?"

"They will remain in the capital for the remainder of the week."

Chrysalis chuckled, "That will work out perfectly. I will have Canterlot in my hoof and I can enact my vengeance upon all of the ponies that foiled us last tim." Chrysalis stopped herself, "Now we need to figure out what to do about this Mathew character."

"My Queen, are you really going to take the word from Sombra?" Thrall asked in disgust.

"I may hate Sombra, but with another alicorn in the picture we must have a plan of attack." Chrysalis hummed to herself.

Thrall scratched his head for a moment, "You may be able to subdue him with you mind control."

Chrysalis thought of this for a moment, "The problem is, we know nothing of his abilities. He may be able to resist a simple mind control spell." Chrysalis continued to contemplate, "Physical strength and magic are always a choice with the Colony's cast numbers . But numbers may not win the fight, like what had happened last time."

"How do you suppose we precede, my Queen?"

Silence followed as Chrysalis thought deeply, "If we can't win through mind control or brute force, then how?" Chrysalis growled, "Then we attack his heart."

"Are you referring to the Lichen Spores?" Thrall asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"I am," Chrysalis said, her brow furrowed deep in thought.

"But that is a poison," Thrall interjected.

"You are quiet right," Chrysalis said offhandedly. "But that is only if we do not act on counteracting the poison fast enough."

"True," Thrall said. "The spores will start by causing severe hallucinations, amplifying your ability to sway his mind. With every beat of his heart, his body will grow weaker." Thrall took a deep breath, his heart skipping a beat as he thought of the further affects, "But if not treated soon enough, the spore will begin to eat his body. He will experience worst pain and suffering imaginable. His hallucinations will become even more severe, bringing some of the worst nightmare you could imagine before he dies. Wouldn't that be a waste of a pony full of potential food?"

Chrysalis answered, "You are right General. However, one life will not stop us from protecting the Colony."

"How do you suppose we get the spores to him? We may be in the middle of combat and using the spores will potentially harm our food source that happens to be in the crossfire."

A creeping smile formed on Chrysalis muzzle to reveal her fanged teeth. A plan began to form in her mind. "And I have an idea as to just how we can capture him and the rest of these ponies."

0 0 0

Celestia slept soundly under a canopy of pink with gold frills lining the edges. Surrounding the sleeping Princess, pristine wooden desk and dresser drawer lined the wall with a large door leading to the master bathroom. Celestia's cutie mark adorned her mattress cover.

Silently, the door to Celestia's room opened long enough to allow a blurred space of air to enter the room. Chrysalis moved next to the Princess, her horn glowing green. Chrysalis's aura spread over Celestia's horn. The princess's peaceful expression turned to disturbed as her mind was assaulted by the Changeling Queen. Muttering into the air, Chrysalis smiled "Soon, Celestia. Soon, Canterlot will be mine."

0 0 0

Mathew laid sprawled eagle on his bed, pillows and blanket thrown around off the mattress. Mathew's loud snores escaped the stallion's muzzle, drool lining the side. "Uh… Little… Little Kim's got my sandwich."

Mathew's door opened slowly, Chrysalis met by Mathew's loud snores, "S-shut the d-damn door… Or I'm gonna shove my boot up your a-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Chrysalis was quick to abide, the door silently sliding closed. She moved closer to Mathew, almost snickering at how easy it was to move about the castle. "My sandwich… bitch…"

_What was that?_ Chrysalis had to cover he muzzle with a hoof to stop herself from laughing out loud. _Stallions can be silly sometimes._ Chrysalis began to charge her horn, preparing the magic. The green light was enough of a warning to cause Mathew to react.

"Letgo my sandwich!"

Chrysalis had a second to teleport herself back into the mountain, a gold hoof striking the air she was previously occupying a second ago. "Who… Who's there?" Mathew pushed his senses out, trying to push past the drowsiness that pressed itself against his mind standing on his hind legs with his hooves ready for a fight. Sensing nothing within twenty feet, Mathew shrugged before plopping down on the bed and soon returned to sleep. _Must have been some kind of glowing green bug._

Chrystalis breathed heavily in the open space of the cavern, calming herself from the close encounter of the Mathew-kind. "It's alright Chrysalis. This was just a fluke. The next encounter we have will be for real."

"Are you talking to yourself again, my Queen?"

"Uh! Can I have like five minutes alone, General?!" Chystalis yelled.

"Sorry."

**Author's Note:**

This may not be my best chapter, but I hope you've enjoyed it.


	7. Chapter 7

A Demon in Ponyville

Chapter 7: Spending Some Quality Time with the Apple Family

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Little Pony. All other characters are my own.

***YAWN*** Mathew stretched luxuriously on the soft blankets of his bed, his joints popping as he rolled over onto his stomach, ending up on the hard floor with a loud **oomph!** Mathew picked himself off of the ground. On his hooves, Mathew pushed against the ground and lifting his rump into the air, stretching his back like a common housecat with his wings flaring out. The stitches pinched the skin on his right side reminding him to take it easy._I wonder what time it is?_ Looking out the window, the stallion was greeted by the pre-morning light spreading across the heavens. The sky held a deep blue color as Celestia's sun slowly making its way into the horizon. Mathew opened the tall window, greeted by a blast of freezing cold air. Invigorated, Mathew thought _I love the early morning._

Loud voices rose from below his window, interest Mathew looked down on what appeared to be a training yard. The low cut grass of the large square plot was home to the hundred or so ponies training. Pushed against the east wall, several worn punching bags hung from wooden posts as the Royal Guards pummeled them with their hooves. Twenty circles of white chalk littered the center of the field for sparing ponies. Ponies stood on their hind legs and delivered choreographed punches or wrestled in the lines, while some practiced with wooden swords and spears. The blocky weapons held firmly in the hooves of the guards.

The western wall was dedicated to weight training equipment, racks of dumbbells, free weights, and bars littering wooden shelves lining the stone wall. Mathew raised an eyebrow as several large grey boulders were pushed off to the side of the equipment. Several ponies were rolling the boulders across the intersection or the unicorns were practicing lifting several at one time, causing the rocks to fly in various patterns in order to test the unicorn's flexibility with magic.

Mathew chuckled as several Pegasus hovered a few feet off the ground, weights strapped to each of their sides._I need to learn how to fly_, Mathew thought to himself as he looked at his own wings. _I think I can go for a warm-up today._ Mathew decided turning away from the window to find his way down to the training ground, but a idea popped into his head. Looking back at his wings, Mathew thought, "Flying can't be that hard."

0 0 0

Shining Armor entered the training ground from the palace wearing sweat bands on each hoof and carrying a full canteen of water onto the grassy field. Many of the guards looked up from their workouts, offering the captain a friendly hello. Shining Armor thought to himself, _I love this time of day. The air's cool and the sun's about to rise, the perfect time for a workout. And there is nothing that ruin it._

"INCOMING!" _Except that._

Shining Armor groaned as Mathew's voice rang from above his head. Looking up, Shining Armor couldn't help but gawk as Mathew plummeted through the air, wings flapping wildly. _I would laugh if he wasn't about to be squashed._

Before Shining Armor or anypony could assist him, Mathew pushed himself away from the wall of the castle. Holding his wings out to the sides, Mathew glided towards the ground wobbling as he slowly descended. _Easy! Easy! Easy!_ Mathew leaned towards the right, curving away from the center of the training field back towards the castle. _Almost… Almost._ Mathew held out his hooves to brace for landing. Stumbling slightly, tuffs of dirt and grass flew up as Mathew's hooves skidded against the ground a few feet away from Shining Armor. "YES! First time flying!" Mathew exclaimed, turning towards Shining Armor. "How'd I do?"

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow, "I've seen better flying from a three-year-old."

_Oh, you mother-_

"You have ten seconds to rephrase that sentence before I punch you so hard you'll be kissing the moon at Mach 20!" Mathew threatened, throwing a glare that would make any man flinch in fear.

Shining Armor quickly fixed his mistake, "I mean for a first-timer you did good. You were able to successfully glide." Shining offered a sheepish smile. _That's what I thought._ Diverting the conversation, Shining asked, "Where did you come from anyway?"

"From the widow up there," Mathew stated as he stopped scowling to point up to the open window about eight stories up.

"Wait, you jumped out of a window without any knowledge of flying even though you could have broken every bone in your body?" Shining Armor asked incredulously.

"Yep."

_I think he's an idiot._ Shining thought as he eyed Mathew as if he had a few screws short.

Mathew asked nonchalantly, "I was wondering if I could join in on working out."

Shining Armor answered, "The grounds are free to anypony as long as they don't interrupt any of the guard's work or cause mischief." _Now, I have the sudden urge to screw with some people._ Shining Armor grimaced at the smile spreading across the stallion's muzzle.

"Thanks Shiny!" Mathew exclaimed with a smile moving to an empty patch of grass.

"That's Shining to you!"

"That's what I said, Shiny!" Mathew called, moving over to an empty part of the field littered with ponies performing their pre-workout warm-ups. _Alright, time for pushups!_ Dropping to the floor, Mathew propped his two front legs together pushing against the ground vigorously. Mathew noticed the Pegasus performing the same exercise, but with their wings. _Almost like a wing-up. Hmm, I've got to try that out._ Mathew pushed both his wings against the low grass. _Ha-ha. That tickles._ Raising his hooves over his head, Mathew pushed against the earth and matching the intensity of the Pegasus around him.

Mathew raised an eyebrow as a second pony joined him. Shining Armor began to perform pushups right next to Mathew, thinking _I'm gonna show you who's the real stallion here, bitch._ The pair continued to push against the ground with excessive vigor, Shining matching Mathew's pace.

_Are we seriously going to do this again?_ Mathew decided to step-this-workout-up. Raising his left hoof behind his back, Mathew folded his wings to his side only to catch himself with his free hoof. Mathew began to perform one-hoof-pushups like a maniac, while shooting Shining Armor a sly smile. Shining Armor matched Mathew's workout and intensity, shooting Mathew a smug look. _Oh it is on now! Try and top this one!_ To Shining Armor's disbelieve, and to the disbelief of many of the ponies in the training, Mathew lifted his hind legs off the ground until he was perfectly vertical with the ground to perform one-leg-handstand-pushups.

Shining Armor grunted as he attempted to balance himself on one hoof. The outcome was the unicorn's muzzle meeting the sweet grass. Shining Armor ground his teeth together as he picked himself up, _That means nothing._

One of Celestia's favorite morning rituals was to take a nice calming walk around the castle and through the garden, taking a few extra seconds when passing the training ground and to chep up on the guards in their free time. _To see their aptitude as guards. . . Yeah, that's it. And nothing else._ Moving around the corner to the training field, Celestia blushed as a well toned rump bobbed up and down in the air. _Nice plot._

With an agile back flip and twist, Mathew landed on his hooves facing the opposite direction he started. Without even looking at Shining Armor's annoyed expression, Mathew walked right past him towards the weights._There's only room for one king at the top of the mountain and that's ME!_

Eyeing the stack of heavy weights, Mathew's eyes moved over the metal plates towards the large boulders sunk into the ground. Turning to a dark brown earth pony with a curling green mane and a mark of a grey brick wall on his flank, Mathew asked, "Excuse me, how much do you think these boulders weigh?"

The stallion answered, "The smaller boulders weigh about 150 pounds. The medium boulders are around 300 pounds. And the largest ones are over 600 pounds." _Nice._

"Thanks," Mathew said to the pony, before moving over to the closest boulder. The rock stood at eye level, the grey surface worn by the elements. Mathew smiled at the prospect of a good workout, before reaching under the heavy mass with both hooves.

"What are you doing?!" The brown pony called, worried about the stallion hurting himself.

A collective gasp rang through the compound. Mathew threw the rock straight into the air, the heavy object flying ten… twenty… thirty feet before it made its return to the ground. Shining Armor noticed Mathew standing exactly beneath the object's shadow. Rushing forward, Shining Armor moved to save the poor pony along with the rest of the guards. Even Celestia began to power her horn to save him.

But Mathew didn't require any help. Every pony stopped in their tracks, jaws hanging loosely in the morning air. Celestia had to catch herself, _Woah._ The rock smashed into Mathew's wide shoulders and forelegs, the stallion holding the massive boulder as Atlas would the world. Every pony felt a slight tremor move through the ground.

Mathew pushed the boulder up, moving it between his shoulder blades and back to balance the heavy weight and allow him to use all four hooves. _I think a few miles with this bad boy will make a fine workout_, Mathew considered as he began to ask the pony next to him where a running track was.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BUCKING MIND!"

A shrill scream caused everypony to turn towards the disturbance, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Celestia smiled,_Oh this is going to be juicy._

The purple alcorn's anger was sighted on the frozen Mathew and his burden. Twilight Sparkle appeared in front of him. _Personal space! Please!_ Poking Mathew in the chest, Twilight half yelled, "What were you thinking? You could have seriously injured somepony! What if a Pegasus were flying overhead? You would have killed them with that size of a rock! What if that rock had fallen on any of these guards? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED A PONY! Also! The doctor said you need to take it easy! Why would you purposefully put yourself in the middle of a heavy bucking rock crashing into the ground?! NOW ANSWER ME!" Fire was literally flying out of the Twilights eyes and covering her mane as she pushed her face into Mathew's.

Mathew was taken aback by the sudden transformation. The alicorn's burning eyes, mane and attitude captivated the stallion. _What the hell happened to her? She was so calm and nice before, but now she's Adabbon, Queen of the Hell. Just look at her! The way her hair flows like a wild fire, her eyes full of so much anger! So much emotion! I can feel her anger like the burning of a thousand suns! I can't look away! It's so beautiful! I curious about what she does next: will she ground me, throw me in the dungeon, give me thirty lashing… Why am I suddenly turned on?_ Mathew blushed, tipping his shoulders to allow the boulder to slide onto the ground feeling a warm feeling in his stomach... And loins. _Why are my wings getting excited?_

Celestia raised an amused eyebrow, the only pony noticing Mathew's reaction to angry Twilight.

Mathew couldn't answer Twilight, his head full of confusing thoughts and feelings. This reminds me of how I met Be… "Well!" Twilight interrupted Mathew's train of thought. "Are you going to say something? Do I need to throw you in the dungeon? Give you thirty lashing for recklessly endangering lives?" _Oh my god! She's psychic! Grab me tinfoil!_ "What is wrong with you?"

_I am strangely aroused!_ Mathew thought. A second voice entered his mind, _Oh my!_ Mathew grunted, _Dammit Takei! I already told you! I don't care if you have psychic powers! Stay out of my head!_

_This is Celestia_, Celestia projected into Mathew's skull.

_What are you doing here?_

_Having some fun_, Celestia smirked, a twinkle glinting in her eye. _I have to admit though, it's really empty in here._

"Get out of my head!" Mathew screamed, throwing the Sun Goddess a dirty look.

Everypony looked towards Mathew as if he were crazy, Twilight's wrath simmering down to slowly walk away from him. Celestia chuckled, "Don't worry everypony. I was just talking to Mathew. Please carry on."

All of the Guards except Shining Armor returned to their work, the unicorn moving over to his sister. Shining asked, throwing Mathew a dirty look, "Would you like to answer Twilight?"

"What? Oh wait… Sure," Mathew shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "First: I had everything under control. Second: I made sure there no one was at risk. Third, this is my equivalent to a light workout. And FOURTH… Ummmmm… Uh… Bitch I do what I want." With that Mathew turned his attention towards Celestia, "And would you please never go into my head again! It's creepy!"

_Not as creepy as your sudden feelings towards Twilight_, Celestia shot back in good humor.

_If you say a single word of that, I will do something. I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be so bad you will rue this day!_ Mathew mentally shouted, stomping his hoof into the ground for more emphasis. _Well! Start ruing!_

Celestia said, flashing a bright smile at Mathew, "I think it's time for breakfast. Twilight and Shining, would you join us?"

The three ponies followed Princess Celestia towards the dining room from the previous day. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Cadence were already sitting at the table enjoying a large stack of pancakes topped with fruits and bits of grass. Everypony greeted the four as they sat down, Mathew digging into the large stack of pancakes in on his plate. The fluffy pancakes were delicious! The perfect flavor enhanced with the organic syrup he dribbled all over them.

Celestia asked, sweetly, "How did you sleep?"

Everypony commented happily, Mathew grunting into his food. Celestia turned to Mathew, "We need to discuss what is going to happen to you?" _Trying to get rid of me already?_

_I heard that._ Celestia's sing song voice reverberated in his skull.

"Fine," Mathew groaned. "What do you want to do?"

"Well," Celestia thought for a moment, her hoof rubbing against her chin wearing a wide smile. The longer she though, her smile began to slowly fade. Celestia stared deep into space, her face not moving.

After ten minutes, Twilight finally asked, raising her voice, "Princess Celestia, are you alright?"

Celestia shook her head, holding a hoof to her forehead, "Oh! Sorry Twilight. I let my mind wonder." Turning to Mathew, Celestia said, "I was thinking you could stay in Ponyville."

"Ok," Mathew responded, his thoughts elsewhere particularly on the topic of Twilight. _HA! Twilight joke! I knew I could do it!_

Celestia looked over the six manes, "I was going to ask if one of any of you-" Twilight thinking, _She can't honestly think we would actually take him in._

"-would mind providing a home for Mathew until he can get a place of his own."

Rarity shuddered, "If Mathew is at risk of being homeless, then he can stay with me at the Carousel Boutique."_That name sounds to girly for me to ever live there._

Fluttershy whispered, "I could offer you my spare room, as long as you don't mind my animals. It may be a little crowded, but I'm sure the animals wouldn't mind." _That's so sweet of her._ "As long as you don't mind the ferrets, bunnies, birds, mice, fish, butterflies, cats, squires, bears and so many others." _Did I hear bears?_

Rainbow Dash said, "You can always hang at my house. If you don't mind flying, of course?" _To bad I can't._

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down, "He could live with me! I'm sure the Cakes wouldn't mind! It'd be a SLEEPOVER! YEAH!" _No no no no no no. No. No. No. No. NO! NO! NO! NO! HELL NO! Not in a million years!_

Twilight wanted to say no, really really wanted to say no. But the look from her teacher made her grind her teeth, growling, "You're more than welcomed to live in the spare room at the library."

Celestia smiled at Twilight, _You can get to know her a little better Mathew. What do you think?_

_Whether or not I should be disturbed by the fact your trying get a person you barely know to go on a date with someone you're close to? That's pretty weird. I mean you don't know what's going on in my head. I could be crazy for all you know._

_Aren't I in your head right already?_

Mathew stopped eating for a moment, not having a response. _Yeah, well... S-shut up._

Celestia snickered before Applejack offered, "After what you did for my sister, you sure as heck can stay at the farm. We've got plenty of space and you can work there to earn your keep. Even earn a little wage."

Mathew thought deeply for a moment, _I don't want to be a burden on anyone, so Applejack's offer doesn't sound too bad. Living on a farm may be dull, but I can at least work for my room and food._ "Sure Applejack. I would love to work on the farm." All of the other ponies shrugged indifferently, except for Pinkie Pie as her ears dropped low over her head.

"Great," Celestia smiled warmly at the ponies. The ponies ate their breakfast with high spirits, Mathew joining in on the small talk.

When finished, the seven ponies and dragon stood in front of Princess Celestia. "Everypony ready?" Celestia asked. _Ready for what?_ "I'll teleport all of you to Ponyville to save you some travel time."

"Wait, what?"

"Bye!" Celestia announced as her horn glowed with a bright golden light. In a flash of blinding light, the group disappeared from Canterlot leaving a smiling Celestia. Celestia chuckled, "I think all of this fun warrants a slice of cake." Celestia moved through the castle with a smile on her face, _Maybe Mathew can finally break Twilight out of her shell. Heaven knows I've tried to get her to date. And boy did that backfire!_

0 0 0

The group appeared in the center of Golden Oaks Library, sending rays of light out of the window for every pony to see. Mathew fell onto the ground, his body not use to the feeling of being compressed to the size of an atom and moved through space. The girls and Spike looked at Mathew, wearing amused expressions as the stallion picked himself off of the ground, muttering to himself, "Never doing that again."

Twilight smirked, "Don't worry Mathew. You get use to it after a few teleports." _How is that comforting?_

Applejack said to Mathew, "Well partner, let's get ya to the farm to meet the family. I just know you'll love living as an Apple." _How ridiculous would it be if they farmed apples?_

After a quick goodbye, Applejack and Mathew left the library to make their way towards the outskirts of Ponyville. The pair walked in silence, Mathew taking time to enjoy the nice scenery. The town had a nice rustic feel to it, the Victorian style architecture a well deserve break from the concrete landscapes Mathew was use too. The winding dirt road left the small buildings to the wide open pastures, groups of trees dispersed along the paths to offer shade to any traveler. The air was filled with the sweet scent of pollen and grass. _I swear all you need now is some singing birds and we'd be in a Disney film._

Applejack led Mathew down the path, enjoying the path she traversed daily. Upon the horizon, Applejack and Mathew caught their first sights of the farm. A large red barn occupied the lone hill, windows and a patio attached to the side for living quarters. Two levels of windows occupied made the living space, white paint outlining the widows and canopy to break up the bold red. Mathew gawked at what grew in the fields. Rows upon rows of large apple trees occupied the land, each one the purest color of green Mathew had ever seen and fit to bursting with red delicious fruit. _I don't know how they managed to grow this much fruit, but that's impressive._

Applejack enjoyed Mathew's expression of surprise, before bringing him back to reality, "Alright Mathew, let's head on down."

Mathew followed Applejack's lead as a house guest should. The pair made their way to a large brown front door, Applejack hollering as she opened the door. "Granny Smith! Big Mac! Applebloom! Come to the living room! I want you ta meet our newest farmhand!"

Mathew followed closely into the living room to be greeted by various dark wooden furnature, a pink couch and an old green mare sitting quietly on her rocker, her wispy white mane tied into a bun. Granny Smith smiled at the pair, her old eyes twinkling as they caught sight of Applejack and Mathew, "Applejack! It's good ta see ya, we were a little worried when ya left with Pinkie Pie, but I'm glad ta see you're alright. And who's this?"

"Mathew this here's Granny Smith. Granny, this is Mathew," Applejack introduced the pair with a wave of her hoof.

Granny Smith eyed Mathew for several seconds, before a sly grin crossed her muzzle. _Please don't do what I think you're about to do._ "Oh, Applejack you've gone and found yourself a coltfriend!" Pink rose into Applejack's cheeks, Granny Smith continuing, "It's nice to see you've finally decided to find a special somepony of your own. I've been waiting years for this moment." Granny Smith slid off her rocker, making her way to Mathew. Mathew stood there, not sure what to do as Granny Smith reached up and pulled his head down to eyelevel looking deep into his eyes, humming to the air. Granny Smith began to circle the stallion, inspecting him from all sides. "Ya know youngin, I thought you might 'ave finally asked that there Pegasus that keeps on dropping by for your apple pies, but it's nice to see you finally step out of the barn. You certainly got yourself a handsome stallion. Big and strong! Just look at these legs!" Granny Smith slapped Mathew on his rear, Mathew yelping in surprise before spinning around to face the old mare as his cheeks glowed red. "And a tight rear too. What do you think about Applejack, sugarcube?" _This is getting really creepy!_

"I think I need an adult," Mathew slowly answered, taking a tentative step back.

"I am an adult."

"Granny!" Applejack wined as her blush turned a deeper red, "Mathew is not my coltfried. He's just a friend that needs a place to stay and a job. That's all!" _I'd say I was disappointed at being stuck in the friend zone, but then that'd be weird._

Granny Smith smiled at the young mare, "But why not. This feller's got some good looks and some great legs! And let me tell you, they'd be good for more than just bucking apple trees."

_AWWWWWWWW!_ Mathew screamed in his head, wondering if all of these ponies were crazed.

Rapid hoofbeats from the stairwell broke the conversation, a familiar yellow earth pony wearing a bright pink bow racing towards the living room. All eyes turned to the small pony as she entered the living room, wearing a wide grin as she caught sight of her older sister. "Hi, Applejack! And…" Applebloom stumbled as she caught sight of Mathew, her smile spreading to all corners of her face. _If her smile could get any bigger, the world would disintegrate from the sheer amount of cuteness._ "Howdy there, Mister!" Applebloom exclaimed stopping her mad rush to stand in front of Mathew, looking at him with those big adorable eyes.

Mathew offered Appleboom a kind smile, "Hello."

Applebloom shot off like a rocket ship, so excited she was bouncing on the hardwood floor, "How'd you beat that hydra? How'd you get so strong? Does that dark stuff covering your leg hurt? Are you here to work on the farm? Can you show me how to fight?"

Applejack ruffled Applebloom's mane, glad for a distraction. "Sorry, Mathew. This here is mah little sister Applebloom, our resident troublemaker. Applebloom, this is Mathew."

_Call me crazy, but I think all of Applejack's family is named after apples._

"Hey!" Applebloom cried, moving her head away from Applejack's touch.

A large body entering the room caught Mathew's attention. From the kitchen, a large red stallion with a green apple tattooed to his rump entered the room. With ginger hair and freckles, the stallion easily outdid Mathew in bulk. The red stallion turned to the four ponies, chewing on a long straw of grass. Applebloom decided to take the introduction into her own hooves. Rushing to grab Mathew by the hoof, Applebloom pulled him over to her older brother. "Meet Big Macintosh, Mathew!" Applebloom stopped when Mathew was directly in front of Big Mac.

The pair remained silent, observing each other. Big Mac eyed Mathew with a hard eye, not trusting the stallion in front of him. Mathew met Big Mac's gaze head on, not backing down. The red and gold stallions continued their stare off like real men would.

Applebloom added, continuing to jump in her excitement, "Mathew's here to work on the farm. Isn't that great! Huh, Big Mac?"

_Oh really?_ thought the apple farmer. Big Mac slowly offered Mathew a foreleg. Mathew accepted without hesitation, both ponies never breaking eye contact. Big Mac was surprisingly stronger than Shining Armor. Big Mac applied as much pressure as he could, easily capable of crushing an average pony's hoof to dust. Big Mac smirked slightly as he twisted Mathew's leg, Big Mac wrestling with the alicorn for supremacy. Big Mac was surprised when his arm stopped its motion. Mathew soon smiled as Big Mac's face went from smug to surprised, applying more power. Big Mac's grunted as Mathew twisted his hoof towards the opposite direction, the red stallion putting everything he had into the hoof-shake.

Granny Smith chuckled, breaking the pair as she said, "Alright boys! Let's break it up." Big Mac and Mathew finally disengaged, Big Mac for the first time having to rub his hoof from the numbing force Mathew used.

Applejack turned to Big Mac, "Now Big Mac, I don't want ya'll scaring Mathew away." _Like he could._ "He ain't my coltfried! He saved our sister and I offered him a job with room. That's all! I don't want to repeat the last time I tried to bring a stallion to meet the family." _I wonder what happened? It couldn't have been that bad._Big Mac nodded, looking at Mathew again with a raised eyebrow. Mathew shrugged as Applejack turned to him, "Before we start, how 'bout I give ya a tour of the farm?"

Mathew was about to respond, but Applebloom cut him off. "Applejack! Can I show him around? Please? Please? Please?"

Applejack said with a smile, "Sure thing sugarcube."

Applebloom grabbed Mathew's hoof again, pulling on his leg to make him follow. A warm smile crossed Mathew's muzzle, children were always his weak spot. With a quick flip of his wrist, Applebloom found herself on Mathew's back. "Shall we?" Mathew asked, walking towards the front door.

Applebloom cheered as her ride pushed open the door to enter the bright sunlight. Granny Smith chuckled as Big Mac and Applejack were surprised at Mathew's kind gesture. "And good with children," Granny Smith teased. "You sure you don't want to try?"

"UH! Not again, Granny!"

0 0 0

Mathew circled around the large red barn, listening to Applebloom's shrill voice describing each and every feature of the property. From the mud pit for pigs to the goat's pen, Mathew finally made a full circle around the building. _Wow. I didn't know how complicated a farm could be. Like pigs being used as disposals for rotten apples and food. That does make a lot of sense now that I think about it._

Applebloom waved her hoof over the vast grove of apple trees, "And these are our livelihood! We have over a thousand apple trees and there ain't an apple better than an apple from our trees." _Jesus that's a lot of apples! I'd say that was big talk, but I'm getting the feeling she's not exaggerating._

Mathew chuckled, "That's quite a lot of apples."

Applejack's southern accent reached the pair, "You are correct! Both me and my brother collect them all."_Tough job._

Mathew turned to Applejack with a smile, "So, what would you like me to start on today?"

Applejack chuckled, "It's nice to see a pony with some work ethic. Right now, I want you to plow that field over yonder. Then you can help me and Big Mac collect all of the apples for tomorrow's sale."

"Sounds good," Mathew said, his horn glowing red as he lifted Applebloom off of his head, much to her disappointment.

Applejack said to her, "Now run along Applebloom. You can spend more time with our houseguest as soon as the chores are done. How about you go see yur little friends?"

Applebloom raced off, leaving a trail of dust in the air. Mathew followed Applejack towards the empty plot where a rusting plow occupied the northwest corner. Applejack asked, "Have ya ever plowed a field before?"

"Can't say that I have," Mathew answered, sheepishly. _Does plowing down a platoon of fire breathing demons count?_

"That's alright. Plowing's easy, all ya got to do is get behind the reigns and pull," Applejack explained. "Be sure to try and keep the lines straight when going down the field. A trick I learned is to use the previous hoofprints ya made and walk over them on your trips. Make sense?"

"Sure does."

"Then let's get started!" With Applejack's help, the worn leather harness was wrapped around his barrel and Mathew was ready to go. "Okay, sugarcube. Now just take it easy and try not to overexert yourself. The day's starting to warm up and I don't want no pony keeling over because of heat sickness. Ya hear me?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," Applejack finished, turning away towards the trees. "Oh and one more thing," with a flick of her tail and a whip-like snap, Applejack flicked Mathew on his hind-courters.

Mathew released a neighing yelp. The stallion trotted forward, pulling the plow with him. Mathew threw Applejack a dirty look, the mare only responding with a good nature chuckle as she left him to his work, "I'll check in on ya after an hour."

Mathew continued working the field, simple work. It had been so long since Mathew had time to breath, to enjoy the day. _Ah, there's nothing like working on the land and getting your hooves dirty. Did I just use hooves in the proper tense?_ The plow sliced through the earth, leaving a deep trench in its wake. There was no need to rush through this. Mathew simply enjoyed the activity, a life of constant motion revealing to him the importance of an honest day's work. At least I don't have a drill sergeant breathing down my neck. Time passed as Mathew continued his work, three fillies made their way into view of the plot as he made his last pass over the field.

Applebloom turned to Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo, "See I told you he was gonna live here on the farm."

"Cool," the two fillies answered astonishingly.

Scootaloo asked, "Do you know his name?"

"His name is Mathew," Applebloom answered smugly.

"Mathew? What kind of dumb name is that?" Scootaloo asked. "He's still not as cool as Rainbow Dash. He'd need to be like 20% cooler to match her."

"Oh look! Here comes Applejack!" Sweetie Bell yelled, watching the pair converse.

"Whoa," Applejack gaped._ It's only been forty-five minutes._ Applejack walked up to Mathew, the stallion taking off the harness with his mouth before hanging it on the handle. _Oh God that tastes nasty! Why did Applejack use her mouth to pick it up in the first place?_

"Are you sure you've never worked on a farm before?" Applejack joked.

"I did work on a small garden if that counts?" Mathew shrugged.

"I guess that makes you a dabbler in the art of farming." Applejack continued, "We have some lemonade up at the house. I wanted to offer you a glass before we start you on gathering apples."

_Mmmmm, lemonade._ Mathew nodded before joining Applejack to the patio. Placed on a small wooden table, a large pitcher of ice cold lemonade and several glasses stacked upside down waited for the pair. Big Mac sat quietly on a light grey cushion, a tall glass in his hoof, sipping on the chilled liquid. Two more cushions were placed next to him.

Applejack was kind enough to pour Mathew a drink. Sitting next to her older brother, Applejack motioned for Mathew to sit next to her. Taking a sip, Mathew smiled at the sour taste, the cool liquid quenching any thirst he had. Applejack suddenly moved away from her seat, "I forgot to grab something. Be right back boys." The mare left, leaving Mathew alone with Big Mac.

Mathew and Big Mac sat in silence, Mathew aware of Applejack standing right behind the side of the door with an open ear to any conversation.

"So," Mathew began.

"So," Big Mac said his voice deep and soothing in his southern accent.

"Anything fun going on with you?" Mathew asked, reaching out to the stallion.

"Nope."

"You know any good places around here?"

"One or two."

"Care to share."

"Maybe."

Mathew's brow furrowed, "You don't talk much do you?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac answered.

Silence once again breached the conversation, Mathew slowly getting annoyed by Big Mac's silent treatment._That's it! I've had enough!_ Mathew turned to Big Macintosh, "Look, dude. I want you to know that I am not in a relationship with your sister. I am not trying to get with your sister. She was kind enough to offer me employment and room. I would consider her a friend and not love interest. No matter what your Granny says."

Big Macintosh looked into his eyes, trying to find any sign of deceit. When he found none, Big Mac sighed, "I believe ya. I guess ah just get a little overprotective of her at times." _That's a big understatement, buddy._

Mathew offered Big Mac his free hoof, "How about we start fresh?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac smiled, shaking the hoof. When they released, Big Mac commented, "Ya got a strong leg there. I was almost worried you might have taken off my hoof."

Mathew smiled, "Naw! I wouldn't do that." _I did rip off the arm of a dragon once, but that was in an emergency._ "You're pretty strong too." Big Mac and Mathew enjoyed a chuckle, "Can I ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"Is your grandmother always like that?" Mathew asked in a hush voice. _I swear I can hear her laughing._ A small cackle emitting from the kitchen.

Big Mac smiled, "She's just teasing AJ. You just happened to be in the crossfire of her fun."

"Good to know", Mathew chuckled.

Applejack reappeared through the door, "Alright ya slowpokes, let's get started on some applebucking!" _Apple-what?_

Big Mac and Mathew stood up, the red stallion walking into the apple trees as Mathew followed Applejack towards the side of the barn. After loading a cart full of barrels, Applejack led Mathew as he pulling the cart through the rows of trees. _Tell me why am I the one pulling the cart?_

A know secret of apple trees was the Betty. In every Apple family orchard was a single tree that could not be bucked, even by the strongest stallion. The Apples began to call this single tree Betty because of her tough attitude. Each and every apple on this tree had to be plucked from the branches. Applejack smiled to herself, I think it's time to have some fun.

The three Cutie Mark Crusaders followed the pair as they made their way between the trunks. Applejack said, "I think ya can start here!" Applejack pulled a few buckets from the cart, placing three at the bottom of Betty's trunk snickering to herself. Mathew copied Applejack's motion, placing three buckets next to the tree she had chosen. "Now Mathew I want you to buck all the apples from these trees and into the buckets," Applejack motioned towards the trees in front of him.

"Um, what?" Mathew asked. _What the hell does buck mean? It sounds dirty._

"Buck the tree." When Mathew gave her a blank expression, Applejack sighed moving over to the tree Mathew had prepped. "Buck them! Like this!" with a shout Applejack spun on her hooves and delivered a powerful strike to the trunk with her hind legs. _I didn't expect that._ Mathew gawked as all of the apples fell from the branches and into the bucket perfectly. "Remember to hit the tree as hard as you can."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, Mathew laughing at the thought. "Trust me Applejack. You don't want me to hit that tree with all of my strength."

"Oh really," Applejack challenged, a smile crossing her muzzle. "I bet my tree can take whatever you can dish out, Mr. Mathew."

"Don't make bets you can't win," Mathew teased, enjoying the friendly banter. _Reminds me of the good old days._

Applejack snorted, "Tell you what, how about we have a friendly little wager?"

"Alright." Mathew crossed his legs, a habit that plowed his face into the dirt.

Applejack pretended to think for a moment, "I bet you can't knock all of the apples of Betty here in three bucks. If all of these apples are in the bucket after three attempts, ya win. If not, ya lose." _You actually name your trees?_

"What happens if I lose?" Mathew inquired.

"You get to watch my sister and her friends for a whole day," Applejack said wearing a sinister smile. _That doesn't sound so bad._

"And if I win?" Mathew asked smiling friendly, not really caring about winning or losing.

"I will make a very special apple pie just for you tonight," Applejack offered. That does sound tasty. Applejack offered him a hoof, "Deal?"

Mathew shook her hoof, "Deal."

"He has no idea what he's gotten into," Applebloom muttered to the other two fillies.

"Why?" asked Sweetie Bell in a hush whisper.

"That's Betty."

"You actually name your trees?" Scootaloo asked incredulously.

"Yeah!" Applebloom snapped. "Betty's the tree in the orchard that can't be bucked."

"Oh," Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo responded, turning back to Applejack and Mathew.

"This otta be good," Scootaloo said, rubbing her hooves together in anticipation.

Mathew readied himself in front of Betty, digging his hooves into the soft soil. _I think twenty-thirty percent power will do it._ Ready to go, Mathew bucked the hard bark, causing the trunk to vibrate with a soft hum. Mathew looked expectantly at the apples, but none fell.

Applejack chuckled, "That's your first try. Two more to go."

_This tree's just a little tougher than most back home. That's all._ Mathew thought to himself, as he ready a second strike. Using more force, Mathew struck like a snake. His hard hooves smacked into the bark, the sound of a shotgun blast echoing in the air. The tree shook violently, leaves lazily drifting onto the hard earth and still no apples.

Applejack held her side, laughing heartily into the air, "That's strike two. Third strike and you're out." The CMC joined the older mare in the merriment.

Mathew eyed the tree, this plant was insulting him and he was not going to let this stand. Applying power into his limbs, Mathew raised his hind legs and roared his challenge. When contact was made, everypony starred in awe at the result.

Mathew's hooves didn't shake the tree, the tree exploded. Wood dust, leaves and branches flew in all directions, covering the two ponies in a thin layer. The thundering of apples falling into the bucket warranted a smile from the stallion. _I don't know how that happened, but who cares! I got a free pie!_ Mathew turned to Applejack, the mare's jaw hanging on their hinges as she stared at the buckets full of dusty red apples. "So, about that pie?"

Applejack nodded, her surprise mirrored by the CMC. The three fillies turned to face each other, their shock turning to uncontrolled grins. "That was awesome!"

Mathew tried to apologize to Applejack, but she refused. Instead, Applejack chose to fill Mathew in on the joke. Instead of being mad, Mathew decided to laugh it off. The day wore on, the sun hitting its highest point before lowering into the west. Mathew worked the fields alongside the two siblings, switching from moving buckets full of apples to the storage basement and bucking trees. Together, the three made up for Applejack's absence the previous day, making Applejack a very happy mare.

The sky turned dark when Granny Smith finally called it a day, "Supper! Come and get it! Geez!" The old mare screeched, Mathew appearing inches from her face. _FOOD!_

All of the Apples and Mathew were seated in the warm kitchen table. True to their name, the Apples created a fest of apple pastries, salads of sliced apples and grass, apple cider, bread with spiced apple jam, and the most beautiful apple pies you could imagine. _The legends were true!_

Applejack laid a single pie in front of Mathew before giving one to Big Mac. "Dig in boys. You deserve it."_Poor choice of words._ Mathew went head first into the pie, the crust and apples were baked to perfection. The flakiness of the warm crust was eloquently matched with the smooth filling. Cinnamon and spices in perfect alliance with the sweet apples to deliver the most mouthwatering pie one could ever imagine. _This food would make a weaker man cry!_ Mathew took a moment from his first bite to take in the full impact of flavor as a single tear rolling down his cheek. _But not this man! Get Back In There!_ The tear reversed its path towards the cheek before Mathew again delved into the culinary masterpiece.

Unlike the Royal Palace, the Apples were no stuck ups to manners. Granny Smith leaned over to Applejack, "That boy has a healthy appetite."

Applebloom asked Mathew, the stallion licking the aluminum cover, "Um, Mr. Mathew?"

Mathew lowered the pie cover, a piece of crust stuck to the end of his muzzle between his nostrils. "Yes?" Mathew asked kindly, trying get at the piece of crust stuck to his nose. Applebloom and Granny chuckled as the food eluded the stallion's pink tongue.

"I was wondering, are you stronger than Big Mac?" Applebloom asked, smiling at him.

"Well…" Mathew thought for a moment. _Absolutely!_ "I'd say we're evenly matched in some areas." _Basically, I'd destroy him._

"Eeyup," Big Mac said, chuckling to himself.

"How about…" Applebloom began, but Applejack cut her off.

"Sorry squirt, but it's time for bed. Early bird gets the worm." Applebloomed groaned at her older sister as she followed her instructions.

Big Mac and Granny Smith shooed Mathew out of the kitchen, denying all his offers to help clean up. Applebloom made her way to bed. Looking around the living room, Mathew's attention was drawn to a very ornate shelf filled with pictures. One particular picture had a small red colt and orange filly standing next to a taller pair of earth ponies. A tall dark red pony with a messy black mane wrapping a leg around a smaller green mare with long blond hair. All of the ponies looked happily out of the photo at Mathew.

"Mah parents."

Mathew turned towards Applejack, her eyes downcast with her ears. Mathew asked, "What happened?"

"There was an accident," Applejack stated as she crossed her hooves in discomfort.

Mathew looked into Applejack's green eyes, offering his condolences. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Applejack brushed it off, "Thank you, but you need to get to bed also. There won't be many chores tomorrow, but we here like to get things done early." Mathew nodded as Applejack motioned for him to follow. Applejack lead Mathew up the wooden stairwell and through the hallway, passing rooms stamped with the names of each of the household's occupants. At the end of the hall, Applejack motioned for Mathew to enter the only room without any ownership. Mathew thanked her as he entered the room, closing the door behind him.

The room's attire was simple, a large mattress covered with a handmade red and blue quilt on dark maple wood frame with two fluffy pillows to match. A large chest sat at the end of the bed, holding thicker blankets for the colder months. A desk was pushed into the far corner of the room, made of the same dark wood. _I like it._ The room was simple, but had a nice country quality to it.

Slipping under the covers, Mathew laid his furry cheek onto the soft pillows. _Huh… this is new. I get to sleep in an ordinary bed for two nights in a row. Woo-hoo!_ Mathew closed his eyes and slept soundly for the night.

**Author's Note:**

I have to confess that the Apples are some of my favorite characters in the show. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.


End file.
